Born from ashes
by starshine
Summary: An eavesdropped conversation leads Harry to believe he is expected to lead the Order of Phoenix and awake an ancient weapon that will allow him to destroy Voldemort. A guiltridden Sirius wants to hear nothing of it and will do anything to protect him.
1. The birthday party

This story was previously known as Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix but I had to change it because half of the stories on FFN seem to have that same name. I still think it was a good title. It is about the order of phoenix, after all.   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never were. Will probably never be. A huge   
thanks to J. Rowling for creating them all and Sirius specially. I hope  
the 5th book will have much more of him, just like my own version.  
  
Read and enjoy, and write a review when you are finished.  
  
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Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix  
  
Chapter I: A birthday party  
  
HARRY Potter was lying on the bed, his head resting on the elbows,   
a little lamp illuminating the pages of a heavy volume laying open in   
front of him. He was doing the same thing   
he usually did on summer vacations at Privet Drive - secretly   
doing his homework in the latest hours of the night. This time,   
though, he was finding it harder to concentrate on the topic he   
was studying than anytime before. It wasn't even the Dursley's   
fault. Maybe the idea of Harry having a multiple killer for   
godfather still had enough power of persuasion after two years of   
not seeing any prove of Sirius' existence, or maybe Dumbledore had   
done some bit of extreme powerful magic to convince his relatives   
to accept him once again for the summer. Harry was sure that only   
a Total Memory Sweep Charm would do the trick, making the Dursleys   
forget all the trouble he caused in the last fourteen years   
(selected examples being the blow-attack on aunt Magda, Dudley's   
Ton Tongue, more Dudley torture like a snake attack or a pig tail   
and many many others). That or a death threat were the only two   
things that could possibly make the Dursleys allow him once more   
in their completely normal typical middle-class home. Not only did   
they pick him up at King Cross and drove him to Privet Drive   
without any comment about the events of the past summer, they even   
left him in peace afterwards and allowed him to have all his   
school things in his room. They also fed him better than the   
previous summer, but considering that he had been in danger of   
starving than, it wasn't much of improvement.   
  
Since than Harry was left total and completely to himself. There   
was no more harassing or ordering him around, Dudley's stupid   
jokes and unpleasant comments about his parents. In fact, there   
were no comments of any kind concerning Harry. If he was treated   
as if he was an irritating piece of dust on aunt Petunia's   
perfectly clean carpet before, now he seemed not to exist at all.   
But even for that Harry was grateful. The memories of Voldemort   
rising from the cauldron, staying in front of him surrounded by   
his army of Death Eaters kept haunting Harry at night. For the   
whole summer he had longed to receive some news from the outside   
world, to see if anything happened that confirmed his darkest   
fears. But the letters from Ron and Hermione assured him that   
nothing happened, and his scar hasn't bothered him at all since   
the Triwizard Tournament. Harry now paid more attention to the   
muggle news in case something emerged from that side, but also   
there everything was quiet. It was as if nothing happened in the   
whole world. If it wasn't for the events he had witnessed himself,   
he would have never guessed that the dark times had never been   
nearer since Voldemort's fall.  
  
Harry sat up in his bed and closed the book he had been trying to   
study. "Dark curses and contra curses - a quick guide" wasn't in   
his list of books for the next year, and despite its name had   
proved to be quite a long and difficult volume. Harry got it from   
Ron who borrowed it from his father after a week of coming up with   
different excuses and making Hedwig, who had to deliver messages   
to the Burrow every day, extremely nervous. Harry couldn't   
understand his friend's reluctance at helping him to learn more on   
the subject. It wasn't like he planned to go after Voldemort, but   
perhaps Ron was afraid he could do exactly that. In fact Harry   
had come to a point of quiet resignation about the part of his   
live that had to do with the dark lord. For some reason the idea   
of being the personal enemy of the most terrible wizard of the   
modern history didn't scare him anymore. That didn't mean, of   
course, that he intended to surrender and wait patiently for him   
to come. Harry was determined to learn as much defence against the   
Dark Arts as he could. The classes he had had at Hogwarts had been   
or very good like the last two years, or simply a loss of time,   
and he couldn't know who their fifth defence teacher would be. It   
could just be his luck if Snape finally got his great wish   
fulfilled.  
  
Harry took a good look at his clock and smiled when he saw that it   
was already past midnight. Once again, he had kept the tradition   
of staying awake at the night before his birthday. This year,   
though, he had a much better reason than homework for doing so. A   
letter came today - now it was already yesterday - brought by a   
big grey owl he didn't recognize with funny flourish letters on   
the envelope forming a return address that made Harry's heart to   
perform a little victory dance in his chest: "Purveyors of Aids   
for the Magical Mischief Makers Co." The owl greeted Hedwig with a   
graceful bow and waited patiently for Harry to untie the envelope.   
The bird was done as soon as the letter was safely in Harry's   
hands. Harry didn't even have time to write a thank you note. As   
much as he wanted to open the letter right away he had enough   
strength of will to hide it under the loose table in the floor   
until the moment came.  
  
Harry had no problems to guess who the sender of the letter was.   
He had no news from Sirius since they said good-bye at Hogwarts   
when his godfather parted hastily to carry out Dumbledore's   
orders. No news was, of course, very good news itself, but Harry   
had to recognize he was a little disappointed about it and angry   
with himself at his selfishness at the same time. He knew Sirius   
had now a job to do; all the while the Ministry of Magic and   
muggle police kept searching for the ruthless killer everybody   
thought him to be. He missed his godfather in a way no other   
person could fulfil. True enough, Ron and Hermione were the best   
friends he could ever imagine having, but there were situations   
not even Hermione with the portable library she seemed to carry   
inside her head could resolve. After four years of running into   
the most incredible adventures, sometimes because he really   
intended it, but mostly because the trouble clung to him in all   
imaginable ways, beginning with Snape and ending with Voldemort,   
Harry was becoming an adult and beginning to understand that he   
needed the help of another adults if he wanted to celebrate his   
sixteenth birthday. He knew he could turn for help to many people,   
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Dumbledore, probably even the Ministry of   
Magic if he was in danger, but it seem stupid to talk to them   
about more trivial problems. Maybe that was the difference. Sirius   
was the only one to whom he could talk about really everything   
without feeling that he was wasting the other person's precious   
time, not to mention that he could tell Harry all the things he   
always wanted to know about his parents. For the first time in his   
life Harry was beginning to understand what it was like to have a   
parent, somebody with enough experience to help him out when he   
needed it and yet trust him to make his own decisions without   
nagging at the mistakes he was bound to commit.  
  
One look at the clock told Harry the thing he had wanted to see   
since he came upstairs pretending - unnecessary, for nobody in the   
house cared – to be tired and ready to sleep. He was already   
fifteen years and twenty-two minutes old. Harry's self-control   
lasted only so far. In one motion he dived under the bed und   
extracted the black envelope with silver letters that combined in   
the all too familiar inscription "Purveyors of Aids for the   
Magical Mischief Makers Co." Harry opened it with extreme care,   
not wanting to damage the envelope that was a piece of art by   
itself and more importantly, careful not to miss the tiniest of   
details of what could be inside. Two things fell onto his bed one   
atop of another. The first was a letter written in familiar   
handwriting. The second was a gem the size of a bean, transparent   
so that Harry could see a magnified letter F on the place in the   
letter where it had fallen. Harry held the object between his   
fingers and brought it under the light of his lamp for closer   
examination. It was soft and warm under his touch and felt more   
like a jellybean than a gem, he realized with surprise. He   
squeezed it a little and the contents of the thing, whatever it   
was, turned from crystal clear to milk white. The milky core   
concentrated in the middle of the gem and begun to turn around and   
glow until it formed a little shiny whirl that started to dance   
inside the once again transparent gem. It was certainly an   
entertaining sight but the use and the name of the object remained   
as unclear as before. After contemplating the happy whirl a little   
more Harry put the gem aside, observed how it dissolved itself   
once the pressure of his fingers was gone and took the letter.   
  
"Dear Harry!  
Sorry I couldn't write you sooner. You are being guarded more   
heavily than you can imagine after what happened, which is great   
except for the fact it's almost impossible to get in touch with   
you. I was also hoping to come and see you on your birthday but   
now I'm afraid you'll be strangled with your muggle relatives once   
more."  
  
Harry left out a long breath. The idea of Sirius coming to Privet   
Drive created in his mind an image of a real cool birthday, but it   
lasted less then a second to be replaced with images of aunt   
Petunia calling the police and than spreading the news of a   
dangerous criminal in her garden around their neighbourhood. As   
strongly as he wanted a real birthday with somebody whose face   
didn't change to a grimace of pain at Harry's sight the fear of   
Sirius' capture was stronger.  
  
"However, I'm sending you something that will hopefully help you   
to enjoy you birthday party a little more this year. The stuff   
you'll find is Voluntariatum, also known as the Mood Changer - the   
amount should be enough for 3 angry muggles to become really nice   
people ready to fulfil all your wishes for a day. Just slip it in   
a drink and be careful not to drink any. You won't get in trouble   
with the Ministry by using this at home - their arrangements for   
you safety don't include the detection of Mood Changing Potions.  
  
PS - Moony keeps insisting I must warn you against the dangers of   
irresponsible use of the potion. The stuff is not exactly   
forbidden, but it can cause lots of problems if used in the wrong   
place the wrong time. Anyway I trust your judgment - just do not   
try to persuade your relatives to give you a pink elephant for a   
birthday present.   
  
All best for your birthday  
Have fun  
Padfoot and Moony"  
  
Harry folded the letter with great care and put it back under the   
loose table in the floor with all his other possessions. The   
Dursleys allowed him to have his magical stuff in his room this   
year (allowed wasn't really the right word - uncle Vernon just   
watched Harry take his coffer upstairs without saying a word, his   
face stating clearly that he fervently hoped that the trunk would   
slip through Harry's hands and land atop of his head after falling   
the whole set of stairs). He watched the Voluntariatum gem once   
again before switching off the lamp but avoided touching it this   
time. If the stuff really worked this was going to be the best -   
and the first - birthday party in his life. Harry couldn't   
remember ever feeling so happy at Privet Drive, except for the day   
when he found out that he was a wizard and was going to study at   
Hogwarts. But than he was looking forward to leave the Dursleys,   
and now he could hardly wait to see them in the morning.   
  
There was only one thing that bothered him at the moment. The part   
of Sirius' letter about his protection added up with some other   
things Mrs. Weasley said at Hogwarts, and the conclusion was both   
evident and unsettling. He was being watched by the Ministry, and   
had been for a long time. Harry thought back of the time when he   
got an official warning for using magic outside school in the   
summer after his first year. He had then assumed that there were   
ways to trace every step of every wizard, but now he knew better.   
They certainly couldn't trace everyone if they couldn't find   
Sirius, and now that Harry thought of it he had seen Ron perform   
many little charms in summer, and his twin brothers Fred and   
George had been using more than one highly illegal charm outside   
school before they graduated without attracting any attention   
except that of their victims.   
  
The idea of being constantly watched by some shadowy people made   
Privet Drive seem even more like a prison, but at that moment   
there was no nasty thought that could cloud the happiness of being   
about to celebrate the first real birthday of Harry's life. He   
closed the eyes and tried to imagine uncle Vernon smiling sweetly   
at him, announcing that his pink elephant was waiting in the   
garden, and aunt Petunia feeding it her best flowers. Harry found   
the idea quite appealing and proceeded to adorn it with a very   
pink Dudley getting hysterical because the elephant wasn't for   
him. The last thing he thought before falling asleep was whether   
Ron's father could connect Privet Drive to the Floo Network for   
another day. With little luck he would even have guests, and Ron   
and Hermione wouldn't have to send their gifts by owl post this   
time.  
  
  
The next day Harry woke up at seven and spent another half an hour   
making up different plans for his great hour. The sun was shining   
lovely through the window, the smell of breakfast was tempting and   
Hedwig greeted him with a playful prick on his finger and the   
clapping of her wings, showing with all her movements that Harry   
should stop loosing time and finally go and have some fun with the   
Dursleys. But Harry wasn't in a hurry. The day was promising to be   
the best of his vacations and the success depended only on him.   
Both the sweetness of the expectance and the dread of the   
definitive moment were almost too powerful to control. Harry put   
his clothes on as slow as he could, hid the Voluntariatum pearl in   
the pocket of his jeans, opened the door and went slowly down the   
stairs counting every single step. Everybody was already sitting   
around the table and Dudley was trying to find a place on his   
plate for his fourth toast.   
  
Harry was resolved to act as normal as possible, but as he sat to   
the table and helped himself to a toast he could feel his heart's   
beat down at the tips of his fingers. He mumbled a strangled   
"Hallo" that went completely unnoticed and watched the others at   
the table. Dudley has failed in finding a free place on his   
overloaded plate and finished sending his toast directly into his   
mouth together with a spoon full of marmalade. That earned him a   
look full of loving reproach from aunt Petunia and no comments of   
any kind from uncle Vernon, for he was deep immersed in the   
business section of the newspaper. Harry found himself prying no   
one of the Dursleys changed a fourteen-year-old tradition and   
suddenly took notice of his existence or remembered that today was   
his birthday.   
  
He watched Dudley to swallow his toast, take a napkin and clean   
the remains of the marmalade from his mouth. He than proceeded to   
make a paper ball from it and pretend to take aim in the direction   
of Harry's glass of milk. His mother noticed the scene and   
confiscated the napkin, but not before throwing Harry a reasonably   
ill-hearted look over the table that was immediately mimicked by   
Dudley's own ugly smirk. Harry ignored both of them, knowing that   
Dudley would never dare to do anything and concentrating instead   
on the problem at hand.   
  
All the difficulty of his task and all the things that could go   
wrong became slowly evident. What if he poured the Voluntariatum   
into the milk jar and it changed colour or started to form whirls   
like it did before? The Dursleys wouldn't get very enthusiastic if   
their breakfast turned poison green or started to dance around the   
table. Harry realized he should have done his little potion   
experiment before breakfast and cursed himself for his stupidity.   
In spite of getting himself in all the possible troubles he was no   
troublemaker at heart. Fred and George Weasley would come up with   
a plan in less than a second. Harry smiled as he remembered the   
way they tricked Dudley into eating one of theirs Ton-Tongue-  
Toffees, even though he was deadly afraid of anything to do with   
magic.   
  
The luck was definitely on Harry's side that day, because as he   
sat at the table chewing his toast and watching the arrows of the   
clock to move slowly as the time passed by and no opportunity   
presented itself he heard a loud and inpatient knock on the front   
door. Looking up from his plate he saw uncle Vernon to fold his   
newspaper with an upset gesture and stand up. He waited for him to   
disappear into the corridor and listened to the sound of the   
opening door. Than there was a moment of silence followed by a   
soft cracking sound that was both incredibly familiar and   
completely out of context in the peaceful summer morning at Privet   
Drive.   
  
"Vernon? Who is it?" Aunt Petunia was half through her way to the   
door, curiosity written all over her face. Even Dudley let himself   
crawl down from his stool and was looking at his mother. Such a   
good opportunity would be very foolish to miss, and Harry chose to   
ignore the situation at the entrance and immediately stuck his   
right hand into his pocket, ready to play his first mischief on   
the Dursley family.   
  
What happened next made Harry completely forget about the   
Voluntariatum for a couple of month at least. The next thing he   
heard was a loud BANG and a glass broke in little peaces that fell   
on the floor with the sound of raindrops. Harry had no time to   
worry about the destiny of aunt Petunia's big foyer mirror,   
because the second sound he heard was the most terrible scream his   
aunt ever produced. Not even the sad episode with aunt Magda   
sustained the comparison. It was clear that the loss of no mirror   
in the house could provoke such a reaction in Harry's aunt, no   
matter how high it's price or how terrible it's destiny could have   
been. The next thing he knew aunt Petunia was in the kitchen,   
grabbing Dudley by the waist and proceeding to hide him under the   
sink. The task proved to be quite difficult and if she had time to   
compare the available space with Dudley's diameter she would have   
realized how hopeless her intentions were. She stopped for a   
moment, only to throw Harry one of the deadliest looks of loath he   
ever had the displeasure to receive. That look finally succeeded   
in jerking him out of his paralysis. He could think of only one   
thing capable of produce such a mixture of fear and hatred in his   
aunt, and the sound he heard a moment ago had sounded familiar for   
a reason. A Transfiguration had taken place, a bigger object being   
transformed into something much smaller with a typical "plop" he   
had heard many times before in Professor McGonagall's classes.   
This realization set Harry into action. With a reaction even Mad   
Eye Moody would envy he made a run through the corridor, up the   
stairs and to the table where his wand was laying without even   
taking one look at the front door to find out who was making magic   
in his house. Friend or foe, he needed a wand before he faced the   
unexpected. Always constant vigilance – he had learned the lesson   
well enough.   
  
Harry held his wand tightly in his right hand and headed back   
downstairs, only to see that the things were getting even more   
weird. Moving down the stairs he was almost run over by Dudley,   
who had finally escaped the clutches of his mother and was now   
trying to find a hideaway upstairs. A couple of steps behind him   
was aunt Petunia. And at the end of the stairs stood Sirius Black,   
wand in hand and pointing up in general direction of Harry's   
relatives. Harry came to a harsh stop, completely confused at what   
the whole matter concerned. His first thought was that Sirius had   
come to celebrate his birthday after all, and was so carefree as   
to simply walk and knock at the door. Panic started to build up   
quickly in Harry's chest and his hands felt suddenly cold and   
disobedient. But he instantly knew that his first version didn't   
explain anything. Sirius didn't look like the fugitive murderer   
whose photo was on the first page of muggle and magical newspapers   
two years ago. Dirty clothes, long hair and the empty and hungry   
look in his eyes were gone to be substituted by the image of a   
handsome young man wearing jeans and a shirt. He looked so normal   
it was incredible, except for the wand he was carrying. There was   
no way uncle Vernon or aunt Petunia could be scared to death by   
the view of a common muggle, even if he had something very similar   
to a wand in his hand. In their imagination magic was anything but   
normal.  
  
On the other hand, aunt Petunia didn't seem to care about Sirius   
at all. The conflict between her fear of magic and hatred for   
anything that had to do with it seemed to come to an end and she   
stopped right in front of Harry.  
  
"You! I knew you would bring us nothing but trouble! Now do you   
dare… How do you dare to… to… live!" she lost her words and   
slapped him hardly in the face. The humiliation of it hit Harry   
more than the pain itself. He took one hand to his face where his   
skin started to burn and screamed angrily   
  
"Why?" He was so taken back that he couldn't think of anything at   
all, and the question escaped his mouth before he could control   
himself. He was accustomed to the unfairness with which the   
Dursleys usually treated him and their way to look at him like he   
was some kind of dangerous three-headed monster, but this time it   
was completely impossible to swallow. The fact that Sirius had   
witnessed it all only made the things worse.   
  
But all his anger was forgotten as he saw Sirius point his wand at   
aunt Petunia and mutter a curse. Nothing came from the wand, no   
sparks and no light, but Harry knew instantly that the curse had   
worked. At the place where a woman stood just a second ago now   
moved a big slimy snail. If Harry had looked more closely at this   
new guest he would have noticed that its features had a distant   
horse-like look. He didn't need to think a lot now to understand   
what happened to uncle Vernon after he opened the door and also   
had an explanation for aunt Petunia's previous hysterical   
behaviour.   
  
"That wasn't necessary!" He managed to let out. He was torn   
between the joy of seeing aunt Petunia one inch high and creeping   
at his feet and the still persisting feeling of humiliation of   
being slapped in front of Sirius and just staying there waiting   
for his godfather to rescue him. He was already fifteen after all,   
nearly a fifth-grade at Hogwarts and the only one ever to stand up   
against Voldemort and live. Two times. And he was still letting   
his aunt and uncle to shove him around.   
  
Sirius did nothing to acknowledge Harry's words and with one   
movement of his wand transformed Dudley in another snail, this one   
smaller than the previous but looking much fatter. Dudley had   
first tried to hide in Harry's room, but his head appeared in the   
doorframe again as soon as he realized that his mother was about   
to give Harry a good lecture.   
  
"Deserves it, after all..." Harry decided that Dudley's fate   
wasn't worth mentioning to Sirius. Wasn't this what he was   
dreaming about ever since he learned that he had a godfather? But   
deep inside him the constant vigilance was back, and the voice of   
the reason was telling him that it was impossible that Sirius   
would risk coming to Privet Drive and course all his relatives   
just to give Harry a memorable birthday party. Only now did he   
notice the expression on Sirius' face. The eyes that were once   
lifeless and empty shone now with darkness of danger and   
determination. He had turned around and sent a locking charm in   
the direction of the front door. Harry made the rest of his way   
down the stairs only to be stopped by Sirius' grip around his   
shoulders.  
  
"Harry, get out of here! NOW! " He found himself being pushed back   
upstairs, his worst suspicions confirmed. And than, as Sirius let   
him go and turned around to face the door he finally saw them. Two   
long black figures with black masks covering their faces, the   
standard outfit of the Death Eaters. The door burst open as the   
first of the two overcame the locking spell and entered the house,   
stepping on the glass and little pieces of wood that were part of   
the door a minute ago. Harry couldn't see his face but had the   
feeling that the masked man looked directly at him for a moment,   
and then inspected the inside of the house. He muttered some words   
Harry didn't recognize and a ball as shiny as a little sun came   
out of his wand. Harry gripped his own wand even more tightly,   
prepared to summon a banning charm, but the sun made no movement   
towards them. It floated in front of the Death Eater for a   
fraction of a second and than darkened and slowly dissolved   
itself. That seemed to be enough for the masked man; his movements   
became more sure and relaxed. The Death Eater acted now like he   
was in control of the situation. He held his wand pointing at   
Sirius, who had stepped forward to shield Harry from the newcomer.  
  
"They are alone, no Watchers here." The man announced to the   
second one waiting outside and made a step to the stairs, his wand   
always pointing steadily in front of him. Harry could feel Sirius'   
hand to squeeze his own a little tighter at this news.  
  
"Nobody will come, Black. Your Ministry won't even realize what   
happened until after the Muggle discover the bodies. Nice of you   
to drop by. Your victim count is about to go up to fifteen Muggles   
and two wizards..."   
  
"Make it twelve Muggles and three wizards, Avery." Harry couldn't   
tell if it was his imagination or the Death Eater shifted   
uncomfortably at the use of his real name. Sirius made a step   
backwards, still insisting on holding Harry behind his back with   
his left arm.   
  
"You aren't so naive to think there are only two of us here, are   
you, Black? We do our job with great care. The house is surrounded   
and masked from the view of any stupid muggle who could happen to   
go by. And somebody in the Ministry just happened to have turned   
off the Dark Magic detectors around here… A regretful mistake, of   
course."  
  
The Death Eater moved his arm almost lazily and the stair behind   
Harry disintegrated into little pieces that fell neatly on the   
floor. They were now pinned between a pile of debris and two armed   
Death Eaters. Harry had the impression that the man wasn't in a   
hurry. He was definitely enjoying the situation. The second one   
had just come through the remains of the front door, eager to help   
Avery to do some killing.  
  
"Segatio!" Sirius' curse struck right between the both Death   
Eaters, none of whom could block it properly. A ray of blinding   
light came from his wand, drawing a straight line in the direction   
in which it was fired. When it reached the masked men it split in   
two, attracted by their respective wands. For a second it seemed   
that the wands absorbed the light, and then they both exploded   
with a wave of blinding light in the hands of their masters.   
  
"Expelliarimus!" Harry directed his curse at the second Death   
Eater. It had been more of an instinctive move than a planned   
attack. He could tell from Sirius' reaction that the words of the   
Death Eater have been a strong blow, but he also realized that the   
attackers didn't expect much resistance in the view of their   
numerical superiority. Anyway, as long as they fought any thought   
of worry was an unnecessary loss of energy and time. Harry saw   
that he succeeded in disarming the man, but the wand felt on the   
floor not far behind its owner. The man named Avery, with one hand   
over his eyes, sent a wide Stunning Curse in his direction. Harry   
blocked it just before being pushed behind Sirius once more. He   
had conjured a Shielding Charm for both of them that immediately   
turned from invisible to smoking grey as the transparent wall was   
hit by a couple of heavy Stuns. In the temporary safety of the   
shield Sirius turned his attention from the attackers to Harry,   
gripped him on the shoulders and repeated again:   
  
"Go!" Harry had no time to object that he wasn't leaving alone, or   
that he just couldn't do it because they were pinned between the   
men and the remains of the stairs. Sirius pressed some little   
object in his palm and closed Harry's fingers around it.   
  
"Go!" He heard once again as the walls of the room began to   
dissolve around him as if he was looking through a layer of water,   
and he felt that the floor was slowly swimming from under his   
feet. The familiar shapes of the house at Privet Drive started to   
disappear and Harry closed his eyes, trying to blink away the   
shadows that danced in front of him. When he opened them again he   
found himself in a room he had never seen before, a Portkey in   
form of a medallion still pressed tight in his hand.  
  
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You know the drill: the more reviews, the   
faster people write... I don't care if it's a flame, will be happy to know that  
you read it. One exception: DON"T complain about spelling and mistakes   
except if you want to correct them. In case you didn't notice English isn't   
my mother language.   
  
P.S. My grammar gets better after a few chapters as I now have a beta!  
  
  
  
  



	2. The Wronski Feint

Disclaimer: not mine. Rowling's (but you probably knew that already, right?).   
  
Author's notes: to all the people who reviewed the first chapter: THANKS A LOT!!! You are the reason   
I wrote this one so quickly. More notes at the end of the chapter.  
  
Read, enjoy and review.  
  
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Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix  
  
Chapter II: The Wronski Feint  
  
The room was round, dark and empty except for a cylindrical pedestal right in the centre. As   
Harry came closer he noticed that it was only a big piece of polished stone with nothing on it   
except for an inscription that run in circle around its border "fides   
obligat fidem". The smooth surface emitted a soft reddish light that danced around the room. It   
was as if somebody had lit a fire that didn't give any heat and couldn't be seen directly, but   
which reflexes were enough to weakly illuminate the walls covered with heavy curtains. Any   
other details drowned in the dark that the soft reflexes of light could not penetrate.   
  
There was a feeling of power in the room, but no sense of danger. Peace and quiet reigned inside, and   
Harry instinctively knew he was safe there. He muttered "Lumos" and the light of his wand pierced the shadows.   
Now he could see the door, the only part of the wall not covered with curtains. He went in that direction,   
extinguishing the light as soon as he reached the knob.Somehow he was afraid that his unwelcome intromission   
would break the fragile balance of   
shadow and light and wake whatever forces were sleeping in that place.  
  
The heavy oak door opened easily, revealing a flight of stairs leading up and down in both   
directions. The door closed soundlessly behind him and the feeling of peace and harmony was   
gone, leaving him to wonder if it had really been there or his imagination had played a trick on his mind.   
The door melted together with the wooden walls of the stairs and also disappeared.  
  
Harry looked around, trying to decide which way to go. He had to call for help, but he also knew he couldn't   
just call the first person he found. In fact he could think of only one wizard who could help him now without   
endangering Sirius. Suddenly the door at the upper end of the stairs opened and he saw exactly the person he wanted to see.   
Dumbledore went out of his office, followed closely by Professor McGonagall. Harry let out a sigh of relieve.   
  
Suddenly the place wasn't strange and mysterious anymore. He realized he had been there more   
than once, going up this same stairs. Everything became clear in a second, and he couldn't   
understand how was it possible he didn't recognize Dumbledore's private quarters right away.   
He never noticed the door leading to the secret room, but that was nothing of a surprise at   
Hogwarts, where some rooms were known to change their position on specially rainy days.   
  
Harry covered the distance between himself and the teachers in two giant steps, eager to explain everything as soon as   
possible. From their expressions he could see that the news of the attack had already reached them. Professor McGonagall   
was pale before she saw Harry, but now her skin turned white and she had an expression of motherly worry he never imagined   
her able of. Dumbledore's face quite on the contrary dissolved into one of his softhearted half- smiles Harry frequently   
got after coming safe and sound from yet another life-threatening experience.   
  
"I'll admit you had us all very worried for a couple of minutes, Harry." Dumbledore led him to   
his office and motioned to one of the chairs, but Harry had other urgent things in mind.  
"Somebody has to go there!"   
"There are enough wizards at Privet Drive right now to hold a convention. The Ministry may fail   
at first, but it makes up for its mistakes quickly enough."   
"But Sirius is there...", started Harry but the headmaster only shook his head.  
"Sirius has disapparated out of there right behind you if he has any sense at all." Harry had to admit that   
this solution never occurred to him. He felt much more reassured, but not quite.   
Professor McGonagall interrupted him before he could say anything by asking the obvious   
question.  
"How did you get here, Harry?" He extended his left hand to reveal the medallion. Now when he   
took a better look at it he saw it was just a round piece of black stone with the mysterious   
inscription "fides obligat fidem" adorning its border and an image of a sun sending its rays in all   
directions. Professor McGonagall seemed to recognize the object at once. She nodded and took it   
from Harry's hands.   
"You gave it to Black?" she asked Dumbledore frowning a little.  
"Yes, and I am very happy to see that at least one of the things I did turned out to be of any use   
today, seeing that none of my arrangement for Harry's safety worked." He turned to Harry and   
added gravely. "I have to ask your forgiveness, Harry. I thought I had done enough for your   
protection, but you should never assume you are invincible." Harry didn't know what to say to   
that. He didn't feel he deserved the apology, or being protected by the most powerful and   
respected wizard of the century who probably had enough things to do in the first place. He   
avoided looking at the headmaster and studied the traces on the stone floor, listening for the   
conversation.  
"I thought nobody was supposed to have access to the Phoenix Room before all the members of   
the Order are reunited," insisted Professor McGonagall.  
"It's such an ancient magic, Minerva. I doubt anyone can remember now all the rules the Order   
created. Anyway, like one young but quite wise wizard told me once, when you make a rule you   
have also to count on the fact that sometime and somehow it will be broken."   
"Black himself, no doubt. Not that I am against it," she hurried to add. "It certainly saved Harry,   
and time may come it'll save Sirius too."   
  
At that Harry heard the sound of a door opening and steps hurrying up the stairs. The door to   
Dumbledore's office flew open to reveal a young woman panting of exhaustion. She went in   
without any introduction, opened her mouth to speak to Dumbledore and froze as she saw Harry.   
She stared at him for a moment, than let out a long sigh of relieve and to his great surprise   
enclosed him in a tight hug. Harry felt himself getting so red he feared he might burst in flames   
like Fawkes. The stranger finally let him go and fell in the closest chair with the look of   
somebody who had just found the thing he had frantically searched for hours. She flashed him a   
smile revealing a line of perfect white teeth and repeated the sentence Harry feared he was going   
to hear a lot in the near future.  
  
"What a scare you gave us, Harry!" Than she turned to Dumbledore and continued in more   
businesslike voice. "The Watchers are all there, the Hit Wizards too, the muggle police wants   
explanations and the Witch Weekly reporter is probably laying somewhere in the bushes with a   
full body bind right now." She said all that very quickly and paused only to get a new breath of   
air. "I must admit I panicked a little, I mean, no Harry, no trace of the muggle family, everything   
in ruins... I lost time getting there, they put a great deal of shields around and a couple of Death   
Eaters too and than I couldn't find anyone... I got here as soon as the backup arrived, and that's   
a good thing. Now at least we found Harry, and that's what matters. All the Death Eaters got out,   
I can't believe it. The couple outside I had only time to slow down, I knew there were at least   
three of them in the house and they too.."  
  
"Actually there were only two of them, Arabella." Harry and all the others turned in the direction   
of the new voice and were greeted by the view of Sirius Black leaning on the doorframe and   
looking like he had just run all the way from Hogsmeade to the castle. It occurred to Harry that it   
was probably the case, for nobody could apparate at Hogwarts grounds.   
  
"I can't believe it!" exclaimed Arabella's, but her face stated clearly that she didn't expect   
anything else from the man in front of her. "The place is full of Death Eaters and all you do is   
disarm them and run away!"  
"Should I have stayed and waited for all the Department of Magical Protection to arrive?"   
"You could at least have the decency not to disapparate out on me! Maybe we would have   
grabbed some of them instead of embarrassing ourselves!"  
"Look, I want to catch Avery as much as you..." Sirius started defensively.  
"Avery was there and you let him go?!?!" She screamed.   
"Arabella, dear, I'm sorry to interrupt but it would probably be the best if the Ministry got a   
word about Harry's present location as soon as possible. Would you mind?" Dumbledore's voice   
was as sweet and calm as ever. She immediately nodded and stood up to go, but another question   
occurred to her.  
"Are the muggles here, too?"  
"No" was all the answer she got. Realizing that if wouldn't be enough instructions to find them   
Sirius added "but if you look close enough you'll find a couple of snails under the stairs and   
another near the entrance."  
"Snails?!?" Professor McGonagall joined in.  
"Toads were more like it, but I was afraid they would escape." Sirius had finally left the   
doorframe and let himself fall in the chair by the fireplace previously occupied by Arabella. She   
and Professor McGonagall exchanged identical looks of disgust. "What was I supposed to do?   
Avery was about to put an Avada on the man."  
"Sirius Black's guide to muggle protection." Arabella announced sarcastically. "When you see   
somebody being attacked by a Death Eater do NOT try to block the curse and do NOT summon   
protective shields. No!" She waived her hand. "All you have to do is transfigurate the poor   
unsuspecting muggle into a toad, effectively getting him out of the way of the dark curse."  
"It worked, didn't it?" Sirius was sounding a little defensive. "It's a way like any other to deal   
with hysterical muggles." Arabella paid no notice to his words.  
"Yeah, and than disapparate as soon as possible, leaving the others to do the cleaning!" she   
finished.  
"Somebody could have stepped on them." Minerva McGonagall stepped in. "Harry's relatives   
could be crushed be the Hit Wizards!"  
"No big deal." Harry heard Sirius utter under his breath. "I put an unbreakable charm on them",   
he added.   
"Come on, you can certainly make up something better than that. You can't put an unbreakable   
charm on a living being."  
"YOU can't put an unbreakable charm on a living being. I can!"  
"I would like to see that."  
"There's only one way to prove it!" They stared at each other for a long moment, after which   
Arabella lowly announced.  
"I will."   
"Great, go ahead!"  
"I will." She repeated. "And it's time about time somebody gave them their usual body back."   
With that she walked out of the room and down the stairs. Before the door could close behind her   
Sirius' exploded.  
"What the hell is wrong with her? I only did what was best. And I would have stayed and helped   
if I knew it was her outside!" He called in the direction of the stairs.   
"And would run right into the Hit Squad." Dumbledore shook his head. "Believe me, the lovely   
Arabella is perfectly capable of handling the things all by herself. Not to mention that she would   
probably accuse you of getting in her way if you had stayed there."   
"You did put an unbreakable charm on the Dursley family, didn't you?" Minerva McGonagall   
insisted. Sirius just shook his head.  
"She won't check it."   
Harry thought he had seen all the possible looks of the Transfigurations teacher, beginning with   
the one you got if you didn't learn the previous lesson and that only made you wish you had   
studied the whole night for the subject and ending with the one that made you wish you were   
born a Squib and never came to Hogwarts. He was wrong. There was obviously a completely   
different scale of emotions that only a few people got the privilege to see. Harry tried to change   
the theme. There was a question that had been bothering him since the beguinning.  
  
"It wasn't by chance that they came on my birthday, right? I mean, they must have had a good   
reason for it."  
"You are probably right, Harry," answered Professor McGonagall, her anger forgotten. "You   
wouldn't know it, but it used to be like that back in the times when Voldemort was powerful. He   
liked to strike when the people were happy. It's much more effective that way. Stand up to him   
and you'll be the next to find a notice about the death of a loved being instead of Christmas   
presents under you bed."   
"Voldemort has an unique way around people," added Dumbledore. "And there is more. Nobody   
of the people that had any connection to Voldemort, present or past, even if it was only a   
suspicion, had got access to Harry's protection. Cornelius Fudge wanted no risks after all, and I   
personally checked all the precautions. It wasn't a Death Eater who disabled the detectors around   
the house."   
  
Nobody spoke as the meaning of Dumbledore's words penetrated everyone's minds. After a   
moment of silence Sirius voiced what everyone was thinking.  
"They put the Imperius on somebody in the Ministry. Easy, quick and a whole bunch of decent   
people gets under suspicion. He wouldn't do it if he were still weak." Sirius must have realized   
that he was avoiding the fearful name because he made a point of pronouncing it quite clearly   
and putting all his hatred in the words he spoke next. "Voldemort is playing with us."  
"And the attack on Harry was his way to announce his return," concluded Dumbledore. "I had   
hoped he would need more time to gather all his strength. We'll have to work quickly now." He   
paused before making the last announcement. "The Order of Phoenix will be convoked right   
away."   
Harry's clueless look was matched by Professor McGonagall's gesture of surprise. When he   
turned to Sirius he was sure he saw a slight frown cross his face.   
"We have no other choice. We can't be too late. Not again."  
  
  
Suddenly everybody had something to do. Sirius had to contact somebody, Professor   
McGonagall summon all the teachers to the castle and Harry was the only one without anything   
to do. From Dumbledore's words he understood that he had no chance to go back to Privet Drive   
any time soon, no that he wanted to. But the headmaster also said that Ron Weasley's house   
would be too risky for him to stay. Even the Diagon Alley was out of the question. Harry had to   
stay at Hogwarts for now and was facing the prospect of spending the rest of the summer there.   
  
Professor McGonagall disappeared as soon as they went out of Dumbledore's office, but not   
before saying Harry he better went directly to the Gryffindor tower and waited there until   
everything was settled. Sirius stayed longer and promised he would be back in no time and they   
would do something about Harry's birthday. After that Harry found himself wondering around   
the empty corridors of the castle, getting more and more depressed at the silence that reigned in   
the normally noisy classrooms and at the thoughts of the events of that morning.   
  
The news he dreaded all the summer to receive were finally there, but they didn't stay in the   
Daily Prophet or the muggle news but at the doorsteps of Harry's house. There was no way to   
deny now that Lord Voldemort had risen again, and he, Harry Potter, would be known in the   
history as his first target in the same way he was now known as his last one. It was a very   
doubtful honour at best, and it wasn't true. The first one had been Cedric. Of course, he knew   
there had been another victims before, Professor Quirrel, Bertha Jorkins, the old muggle; but it   
was Cedric's death that came constantly to his mind. It had been a sick, cold-blooded killing, and   
almost nobody knew Voldemort was the responsible of that crime. Now it would be Harry Potter   
the eternal victim in the newspapers all again, and he wasn't even the first nor the worst affected   
of all the people who had met Voldemort since his return. Harry was sick of the way his name   
attracted publicity everywhere he went.   
  
He didn't go to the Gryffindor tower right away, wandering a little around the castle and trying   
to find some company. He found none and was beginning to get desperate. Having to spend the   
rest of the summer with Filch and the house ghosts wasn't high on his list of birthday wishes. He   
decided to try out his last recourse and visit Hagrid. He went down the green waving lawn   
toward the border of the forbidden Forest where the hut of the groundskeeper lay under the   
summer sun. Even from the distance he could see that his trip was in vain. Fang wasn't there,   
and the thick silence was only broken by the buzz of occasional bees. Wherever Hagrid was, he   
was planning to spend a long time there.  
  
Harry had gone from a sense of deep disappointment at this until now unknown side of Hogwarts   
to wonder if something happened right after he left the headmaster's office to deprive the castle   
of any kind of live. Even the portraits were empty. He made his way back and headed to the   
Gryffindor quarters. He was approaching the entrance to the tower when he was greeted by the   
sight of the first living being in what seemed an eternity. Well, it wasn't exactly a living being   
but it could move and speak and right away was deep immersed in a conversation with a guest.   
The Fat Lady was talking excitedly to her friend Violet, both so excited they didn't notice Harry   
at all.   
"So he falls to one knee and says: Will you ever find the kindness in your heart to forgive me,   
Milady? And the flowers, Vi, look at the flowers!" Only now did Harry notice the bush of red   
roses that grew right from the stone floor under the portrait and framed the portrait.   
"You have too soft a heart, darling. Remember, he tried to kill you two years ago. You spent a   
whole two weeks in restoration!" Her friend didn't seem as enthusiastic about the whole thing.  
"You didn't see him, Vi. He's not the same man now. So sweet, so handsome, and he was so   
sorry..." She left out a romantic sigh and continued more soberly. "I would have to let him in   
anyway, you know. Dumbledore's orders. So better let him suffer a little, don't you think?"   
At that she turned around and saw Harry who had been waiting patiently to be noticed.   
"Oh, great, here you are! Any news about the Order yet?"  
"Eh, no." Harry answered quickly. "Eh... I don't know the password yet, but Professor   
McGonagall told me to go here..."  
"Don't need the password right now, sweetheart, there are so few of you anyway. I can't   
remember the last time it was this quiet." The portrait opened a little and Harry stepped in   
through a fence of very sharp roses.  
  
The Gryffindor common room didn't look as uninviting as he could expect after seeing the rest   
of the castle. The fire was cracking happily in the fireplace and the windows were opened, letting   
the soft summer breeze enter the room. Harry's coffer was staying near the entrance and his   
books were lying all over the table in exactly the same way they had been lying on his table at   
Privet Drive. Even the contents of his secret hiding place were there, placed slightly apart from   
the rest of his things. Sirius was waiting for him, looking through his "Quick guide to the dark   
curses".   
"Found anyone, Harry?"  
"No." He admitted. "I went to Hagrid and even he wasn't there."  
"Well, he is still away as far as I know. And as for the others Dumbledore thought it was better   
to have them out of here in order to archive better security. Which means", he grinned, "that we   
are free to do anything we want at the Hogwarts grounds". The smile did wonders to his face.   
Harry was delighted to notice how much he had changed over the summer. The fact that he now   
had a place to live, enough food and clean clothes couldn't be the only responsible for that   
transformation. Harry thought that it had more to do with the mission he was now doing. In a   
way he wasn't a fugitive anymore, but a part of a great and noble organization under the orders of   
Dumbledore. Anyway, Harry enjoyed this version of his godfather, whose normally dark eyes   
had lost the last remains of the empty look Azkaban had given him and now shone with a   
constant sparkle of mischief, lighting up in a special way every time he looked at Harry.  
  
Sirius threw apart the books that were taking up nearly all the space at the table and proceeded to   
conjure a little fest consisting of different kind of sandwiches, a big flash of butterbeer and a   
wide assortment of sweets from Honeydukes. At the centre of the table stood Harry's first birthday   
cake complete with fifteen candles.  
"Isn't much, but it's all I could do at such a short notice." To Harry it seemed the best thing he   
could imagine, mostly because it was for him and only for him. As he looked closer he realized   
there was a little figure of himself staying in the centre of the cake and holding a tiny version of   
his Firebolt. As the tiny Harry noticed his bigger image looking at him he mounted the   
broomstick and flew up, making a loop in the air and than proceeding to light the fifteen candles   
around the cake with his tiny wand. The real Harry watched breathless as the figure on the   
Firebolt finished its task, turned to him, waived the hand and disappeared leaving behind a trail   
of gold sparks.   
  
"Don't forget your wish." Sirius' voice took him out of his stare. He didn't need to think a lot.   
He shortly considered wishing the end of Voldemort but quickly decided on a more reasonable   
one. His little self had remind him of the hopes he had been having since some time already.   
Ever since they finally won the Quidditch Cup and Oliver Wood finished Hogwarts to be more   
exact. He closed his eyes and imagined himself as the Gryffindor captain, mounting his Firebolt   
after saying the last words of encouragement to his team. Last year they had no competition and   
he was only a fourth-year anyway, with lots of people older then him on the team. But now he was already fifteen. All the people   
who saw him play told him how good he was. There was no reason he couldn't be the captain,   
and now he was at it, wishing to win the Cup for the second time in a row couldn't hurt. Harry   
opened the eyes, took a deep breath and blew with all his strength. All the candles went out.   
  
They sat in front of the fire for some time, enjoying the meal and talking about nothing in   
particular. Sirius chose not to mention the subject that was obviously on his and Harry's mind   
and the mood in the room became more relaxed as Harry told his godfather some of the things   
from his life with the Dursleys. They had a couple of enjoyable moments imaging the reaction   
of Harry's relatives after being returned to their natural state by the ministry wizards. Harry was   
beginning to enjoy the situation quite a lot when they were interrupted by the sound of the   
portrait opening and Professor McGonagall entering the common room.   
  
"I see you have already taken care of everything." She accepted the piece of cake Sirius offered   
her and went straight to the subject. "But there is something else I have to discuss with Harry.   
Dumbledore wants him to witness the ceremony."  
"Why?" Harry's godfather asked rather harshly.   
"He has his reasons. After what happened today..." She trailed off. Harry could see that Sirius   
wasn't convinced and neither was he. He didn't consider himself a coward, but the only thing he   
liked in McGonagall's words was the fact that he would be a witness, not a participant. After the   
Triwizard Tournament he had decided that the only thing worse than competing with three   
students much older than himself performing advanced magic in front of a bunch of unknown   
people had to be performing magic in front of unknown wizards all alone.  
  
"Anyway, the Headmaster had asked me to explain you what you are about to see tonight."   
Professor McGonagall looked directly at him, somehow managing to look even stricter as   
normally. "The Phoenix Enchantment is part of a very old book of white magic. If successfully   
invoked it allows one person to receive the power of others and use their knowledge and   
experience at his will. Of course, it's really much more complicated than that." She added,   
noticing Harry's look of amazement.  
"The Order of Phoenix is gets together in order to create and protect this bond. One person is   
chosen from all the members to cast the last spell. The volume was lost for a long time, and even   
now only a few wizards know the correct way to pronounce it, not to mention all the preparatory   
ones. However, the enchantment needs something more than a right pronounced spell to cast it.   
The person who invokes the Phoenix must have the unconditional trust of all the members of the   
Order. They have to trust the chosen one with their lives, their safety and their souls; only so can   
the bond be established. That's why today's meeting is so important. Now it is the time to ask all   
the questions and receive all the answers. After that, the spell can be performed."   
Harry tried to analyse the information. It didn't sound extremely difficult so far.   
"What if somebody lies?"  
"You can lie; you can also choose not to answer. What you have to understand is that your   
reaction is more important than the words you say. The others will see your sincerity, your   
discomfort or your fear and will judge you accordingly." Harry bit his lip, imagining a tribunal of   
sorts where everything you did was noticed to the tiniest detail and all the secrets were laid open   
in front of a panel of judges. It was uncomfortable thought, even if he didn't have to take a direct   
part in it.   
  
"Even after the ceremony, the spell can't be cast right away. It needs lots of preparation and   
practice. Giving your power away in the moment of danger isn't something you can do easily.   
Nor is it to control the magical energy of dozens of human beings, each one of whom is very   
different from the others. It will take a lot of time before the Order of Phoenix will be able to   
stand up against Voldemort. That's why we have to start right now." Professor McGonagall   
concluded softly. If she had reserves at saying the fearful name she didn't let if show.   
  
"Why wasn't it done before?" Harry's curiosity was extremely excited. He imagined Dumbledore   
staying surrounded by the multitude of followers, an enormous bird of fire shining behind him.   
The headmaster took up his hands and two fierce tongues of fire went up to become the bird's   
wings. The Phoenix took fly, covering all the people under the shadow of its fire....   
  
Sirius' words threw him out of the clutches of his imagination and back to the reality.  
"They wanted, didn't they? There were rumours of something big, a new weapon of sorts. I never   
heard that it was done, though," he asked.  
"The discovery of the book came too late. There were spies among us, decent people under the   
Imperius Curse, chaos everywhere. The most important part of the incantation is the trust in one   
another. We couldn't call up the Order even if we wanted."  
"Remember, Harry, what you are about to see today is to be kept secret from everybody. The   
only way to destroy the Phoenix is to go after the members of the Order." With that she stood up,   
preparing to leave. At the door she turned around and added in an afterthought.  
"You know that the castle is empty and you mustn't fear detection, Sirius. Just remember that   
Harry doesn't need any more adventures than he has already."  
"Whatever makes you say that, Professor? There're lots of things we can do here.Defensive   
spells to learn, homework to do, Quidditch tactics to practice..." Harry's enthusiastic grin couldn't   
have escaped him, but Sirius went on;  
"Of course, you probably don't need any practice in what Quidditch concerns. What I can't say   
about the OWLs you'll be having this year." But Harry had already took his Firebolt from under   
the mountain of books and was checking it for damage after the trip to Hogwarts.   
"Harry, honest, I don't think I have anything to teach you about playing Quidditch except   
preventing you from breaking your head trying to do some crazy feint."  
"Didn't you play Quidditch at school?" Somehow it seemed completely impossible to Harry.   
"Quidditch has rules!" Professor McGonagall made it sound like a revelation. "He could have   
made a great Beater if he ever mastered the fine art of following them. Any more questions about   
tonight, Harry?"  
"I have one." Sirius' eyes lit up with mischievous glance. "What spell did you use to remove   
Filch, Mrs. Norris AND Peeves from the castle grounds?"  
"The Ask Nicely Charm, Mr. Black." She turned around and went through the portrait hole.   
"She does have a sense of humor, she just hides it so well." Sirius mused after she disappeared.   
"Sirius?"  
"Yeah?" Harry started to grin even before he asked his next question.  
"Have you ever seen the Wronski Feint?"   
"Not since a long time." Sirius' grin matched his own. They stood up and followed Professor   
McGonagall through the hole and down the stairs toward the Quidditch field.  
  
  
  
The day was as wonderful as it promised to be in the morning at Privet Drive. They walked from   
the castle, Harry throwing constant looks around to see if there was someone who escaped the   
tight surveillance around the castle and could see the unlikely pair walking around Hogwarts   
grounds.   
  
By the time they reached the field Harry had stopped worrying and started wondering if Sirius   
had really meant what he hoped he had. He mounted the Firebolt and made a couple of circles   
around the field, each one higher and faster than the other. The broomstick followed the slightest   
touch of his hands, changing directions almost before his brain made the conscious decision to   
do so. He flew higher and higher till the empty tribunes under him melted into one and the little   
figure on the ground looked no bigger than Harry's wand. He paused for a moment to take a   
good look around and than gripped the polished handle tightly with his both hands and dived.  
  
It was a wonderful feeling, sliding down through the layers of air, feeling air to part in front of   
the broomstick and let him through, the wind singing between the branches of the tail, but that   
was no Wronski Feint and he knew it. Somehow he lacked the insolence, the carelessness that   
defined the manoeuvre and made the spectators forget to breath and the other Seeker follow you   
blindly, even if he saw no Snitch and suspected the tramp. The madness of the fall just wasn't   
there. Harry braked smoothly and landed in front of Sirius trying to hide his disappointment and   
make it look like a graceful flight had been all he pretended.   
  
"If this thing is worth half of its price it will never let you do it, Harry." Obviously Sirius wasn't   
the one to be fooled easily when it came to flying. "The thing is, the Firebolt knows what you   
want and you don't really want to be falling. You know there is no Snitch and aren't looking   
forward to breaking your head, so your can't make you broomstick nose-dive just for the heck of   
it." Harry remembered the sensation right at the moment he plunged down and had to admit it   
made sense. It was in moments of great tension when he flew best, moments when he had no   
time to consider his actions and let the instincts guide his flight. And no instinct whatsoever   
could bring him to perform a vertical dive only to fool the enemy.   
  
"I know you have fallen before and you don't want that to happen once more, but try... try to   
find the beauty of it. The easy thing is to always be in control. It's much more difficult to let it go   
until the moment you think you can never have it back and than recuperate it." Sirius fell silent   
for a moment and than shook his head. "I can think of a least three people who would be making   
queue to kill me by now if they heard that."  
  
"I'll give it a try." Harry was getting altitude again, watching the objects on the ground get   
smaller and smaller and trying to imagine them coming to meet him. He concentrated on the   
marvellous sensation of speed and imagined it getting quicker and quicker. He wanted to   
experience it. He wanted to let himself fall, to really fall because he knew nothing could happen   
to him in that moment. He ordered the Firebolt to become an inert piece of wood in his hands   
and felt it doing just so. The inertia he was carrying made him fly up a little bit more, than he felt   
himself to pause in the air and finally change directions and go down. The ground was nearing.   
Harry wiped all thought from his mind except the view of the field under himself and watched   
the grass come nearer so that he could already make out the flowers...   
Everything came to a still stand.   
"Remember that part about recuperating the control?" Sirius' voice came from his left. The   
ground was still right in front of Harry, maybe a couple of meter away, but it wasn't coming   
nearer at all. In fact Harry realized that he wasn't flying anymore, he was hanging in the air head   
down in a way that must have looked very funny from outside. He let go of the Firebolt and it   
stayed at his side without falling. Whatever spell he was using, Sirius managed to archive what   
Harry could only describe as an area of weightlessness in the middle of the Quidditch field.   
  
"Careful with your broomstick, Harry!" At that the Firebolt seemed to get its weight back and   
fell on the ground. "And now careful yourself." And he fell atop of it. He stood up feeling the   
places on his body where he had landed.  
  
"Everything OK?" Harry could hear the worry in Sirius' voice and quickly assured him of his   
well being. "Sorry about it. You looked so enthusiastic I wasn't sure you planned to brake at all."  
  
They made a couple more tries, Harry getting more and more sure of himself and speeding every   
time more quickly toward the ground. How the trick wasn't to make the Firebolt perform the   
crazy feint, Harry came to enjoy it too much for it to be a problem. When the evening came he   
was learning the much more difficult art of coming out of the dive soon enough to avoid   
becoming a wet spot on the. His godfather had already tried to finish the training a couple of   
times but Harry was reluctant to leave before he mastered his first real Wronski Feint.   
  
He had just picked up the broomstick from the ground and speeded up in the sky as quickly as he   
could to prevent Sirius from saying that it was over for today one more time. He stopped so high   
he was sure he couldn't hear him at all. He realized the trick didn't work when he saw his   
godfather point his wand at his throat and heard the magically magnified voice carry around the   
field.  
  
"You may have enough energy to keep flying the whole week, Harry, but I'm tired of playing the   
cushion. Practice if you wish, but I'm out."   
"Please, Sirius! One last time!" But Harry knew he couldn't be heard. One last time, he promised   
himself. He didn't want to try his godfather's patience any longer.   
  
Harry closed the eyes and thought on the Gryffindor team captain. He thought of Krum and the   
World Quidditch Cup. He knew the right moment to come out of the dive, he could sense it.   
With the image of the roaring stadium in his mind, Harry let himself fall. He increased the speed,   
felt it on his skin and than increased it some more. The words of the commentator were ringing   
in his ears.  
"He sees the Snitch! He's diving, speeding toward the ground in an attempt to put at end to the   
long game. The other Seeker is far behind but he doesn't loose the hope, he accelerates and   
places himself leg to leg with the Gryffindor captain. The other players have stopped to play,   
they too are following the duel of the Seekers!" The ground was coming closer at head spinning   
speed, closer than it has ever done before, and a freezing thought flashed suddenly in Harry's   
head. Did Sirius really mean it? Was there no safety area on the ground? During one moment the   
ice fear took control, and than it was replaced by an incredible feeling of confidence.   
  
"They are flying head-to-head one close to the other! The Snitch must be only a palm from the   
ground, because nobody apart from the Seekers is able to see it... Wait! It isn't there! There is no   
Snitch, and Gryffindor Seeker brakes just in time to avoid crashing down, but I can't say the   
same about his opponent. INCREDIBLE! A Wronski Feint like we haven't seen in some time!   
Potter has fooled not only the other Seeker, but also the thousands of watchers of this   
breathtaking event. The World Quidditch Cup goes to England, and I must say it was never more   
deserved!" Harry gasped for air. He hung little more than one meter high above the ground and   
wasn't sure if his feet had touched the grass in his wild braking. He couldn't believe it. He did it.   
The Wronski Feint, the top class flying manoeuvre that only some players of selected   
international teams dared to perform. The emotion overtook him and he sprinted high up into the   
sky once more, celebrating the magic moment. The commentator's voice followed him up,   
enveloping him in a warm victory cloak. "The national hero makes his victory lape. Harry Potter   
with only fifteen years has just become the youngest player ever to perform the famous Wronski   
Feint and win the Cup for his team!" The voice was real, as well as the applause coming from   
the tribunes under Harry. A lone star went up by his site and exploded over him in a thousand   
colourful fireworks.   
  
He saw Sirius on the ground point his wand at his throat and say "Quietus", the last word to   
thunder around the field and give way to a no less thundering silence. The sparkling lights of the   
firework kept sliding slowly down around him and Harry followed them back toward the ground   
where now a little audience has gathered. He saw Albus Dumbledore applauding enthusiastically   
and Professor Lupin with the mysterious Arabella at his side. As he dismounted the Firebolt and   
stepped on the ground she flashed him one of her astonishing smiles. His legs refused to obey   
him in the first moment and he remembered Krum going to get the Quidditch World Cup the past   
summer. He too hadn't seemed to stay sure on his legs and now Harry could understand the   
feeling a lot better. There was nothing, absolutely nothing more he could have wished himself at that moment.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Author's notes:  
  
1 - Am I a cruel monster? I hope not. Than how could anybody think I would let anything happen to Sirius??? (Oh, things will happen to him all right, but death in the first chapter? I don't think so.) Other thing: he didn't play Quidditch because if he did he would be a copy of the Weasley twins and that's not fun. And Arabella won't continue to bitch around him (well, only a little bit), I promise. In fact she is really nice.   
2 - Thanks again to all the people who reviewed, and specially to all who gave ideas. Rachel: the mention of Cedric in this chapter you can credit all to yourself.   
3 - Does anybody think I write too much detail and should stick more to the main plot? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy writing, I'm just a little scared of the proportions this is taking. Let me know you opinion.  
4 - In the next chapter: the Order of the Phoenix meets together and Sirius is forced to be sincere with Snape (he knew it would come, why did you think he was frowning). And Dumbledore has a very important announcement to make...   
  
See you all soon  



	3. The Bonding

Disclaimer: well, this time I can change that standard thing of "not mine", since I did invent some of   
the characters in this chapter. Except that it doesn't matter, the only one I care about is Sirius and he   
(like most others) is not mine, never will be and please don't sue me!  
  
Author's notes at the end.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix  
Chapter III: "Fides obligat fidem"  
  
Harry walked to the group of people gathered near the quidditch field. Most were wearing simple black   
robes and in the approaching darkness they all looked similar to each other. Apart from Dumbledore,   
Lupin and Arabella he didn't recognise any of them. All of them, though, seemed to know him very   
well. Remarks were coming from every direction about what a great honour it was to meet him and   
what a wonderful talent for Quidditch he had. He had to go through a forest of hands, each one waiting   
to shake his. The list of names was interminable. "Morgan Donnelly" was a corpulent wizard with red   
cheeks and a pipe in the mouth filled with something that smelled like a Stinking Potion mixed with   
Bubotuber pus. "Gary Olivander" was a young wizard who Harry guessed had to be related to the   
famous wands-maker. One name jumped in his memory when "Mungunus Fletcher" introduced   
himself. Percy had mentioned that he tried to sue the Ministry for the loss of an expensive tent he never   
actually possessed after the disaster at the World Quidditch Cup last year. Harry had to look away to   
hide the smile on his face. Mungunus Fletcher resulted to be a little man with a very high voice and   
robes that needed a good cleaning.  
  
"You did great, Harry," said a quiet voice at his side. Professor Lupin smiled at him through the   
multitude of heads. "A Wronski Feint like I didn't see in some time. You are quite a player, better than   
your father I dare say." For Harry it was the best of all possible praises.  
"Was my… could my dad do that?"   
"James ways liked the crazy way of flying. I guess he would have mastered it if he tried. He never   
really liked it, though. Said he would never trick an opponent into smashing on the ground just to win a   
match. Always a noble heart, he was." Harry felt his own heart travel through his stomach down to the   
heels and stay there. Lupin's smile, however, didn't disappear from his face and his voice didn't hold   
any hint of reproach.  
"One thing is to be able to do it, Harry. Another quite different is to choose whether to do it or not. You   
are a wonderful Seeker, with or without that Feint. You are perfectly able to choose what tactics to   
use." Harry nodded. He remembered Cho Chang and the game he played against Ravenclaw in his   
third year. The idea of fooling her with a Wronski Feint made him sick. He was glad that of all the   
people it was Lupin who made him understand that.  
"I'll save it specially for Draco Malfoy." He decided. Lupin's expression told him he had no objections   
to the idea.  
"Have you heard the latest news?" Sirius had materialised behind their backs and gave Harry a silent   
thumb-up before entering the conversation. "Lucius Malfoy and the Death Eaters have their own   
private club from now on. The Society for the Promotion of Wizard Traditions."   
"Let me guess. The traditions they promote don't appear in any respectable History of Magic book,   
right?"  
"They put a notice in today's Daily Prophet. Three month after Voldemort's return and they are already   
in the open. Most of the readers saw right through it, and Arthur Weasley even talked to some people to   
try and get it banned but they are screaming all kind of things about discrimination and free speech.   
The Ministry wants to sooth the whole story before the scandal breaks out. Fudge is afraid of publicity   
more than anything else and between Weasley and Malfoy … Well, you can guess who will get the   
blame." Seeing Sirius and Lupin together made Harry realise even better how much both of them   
changed over the summer. For the first time since Professor Lupin came to teach at Hogwarts he didn't   
look sick and tired. In fact he looked perfectly happy and quite strong. Moony and Padfoot spending   
some time together worked better than any medicine. Harry had serious doubts that either of them had   
followed Dumbledore's orders about lying low.   
"They say everyone is welcome. I wonder what would they do if someone with "impure" lineage tries   
to enter. Curse him?"  
"No self-respecting wizard will ever step on the club grounds." Arabella joined in. Of all the people   
gathered around Harry she was the only girl, and she alone looked like a warrior. She had changed her   
black robe for a dark green tunic crossed by a wide belt and trousers of the same colour. Her long, fair   
hair was made up in a heavy plait that reached her waist. It occurred to Harry that the only thing she   
needed was a bow with arrows. She made an impressive view standing next to Sirius, who still wore   
Muggle street clothes. Harry himself had completely forgot to change.   
  
Night was coming and he was starting to shiver under the cool evening breeze. Everyone headed for   
the castle. The conversation was tuning around the events of the morning and Harry found himself   
eavesdropping the bits of conversation around him, eager to fill in the summer lack of news from the   
wizarding world.   
"Fudge can't keep denying it after today."  
"Everyone will have to pass the Veritaserum test."  
"Weasley would be a great asset, pity all the Ministry employees are under vigilance until the security   
leak is found."  
"I heard they have brought in a new detector. Reads the traces of aura that are left after the spell. The   
guy who invented it claims it can pick up the print hours after the spell is made and also detects what   
kind of wand produced it. They hope to identify the person who did it that way."   
"It's incredible how quick the technology is advancing. A little more and we'll have a machine for   
everything just like the Muggles do. The good old wands will be forgotten."  
"Don't be such a cynic, Gary."  
"If they really pick up the traces of the wand they'll find out Black was there."  
"He'll never prove his innocence, and if somebody finds out that he's in the Order Dumbledore will   
have a lot to explain." Harry instantly decided that he didn't like Mungunus Fletcher at all. The other   
wizard, the young Olivander, lowered his voice.  
"Shut up! Imagine it happened to you. Dementors have to be the worst thing right after Voldemort, if   
you ask me."  
"Than get Voldemort and the Dementors together and think of the result. He will try to get them on his   
side, remember my words." Harry looked around to see if Sirius had overheard the conversation but his   
godfather was talking to Remus. The two wizards didn't take notice of him and went on discussing   
ministerial gossip.  
"I heard they saw Avery not far from the house. Is that true?" The question was directed to Arabella.   
She only shrugged her shoulders.  
"What difference would that make? Nobody was able to prove anything against him before. It won't be   
different now."  
"I don't know." Morgan Donnelly, still with the pipe in his mouth, answered. "I always wondered   
about it, you see. Tried to understand how could it happen. I knew him before and he was a fine man,   
Avery, I'm not afraid to say it. If he really was there means he had served the Dark Lord willingly after   
all."  
"It was Avery all right, believe me." Sirius had obviously heard the last part.  
"If Sirius Black says so it must be true. Voldemort's right hand can't be mistaken."   
"Low and not funny, Arabella. Exactly the kind of thing I would expect from you. Should have seen   
how he jumped when I recognised him. Low, dirty traitor. They do their job with great care, ha! I hope   
he's got his share of punishment from his master."  
"Don't even say that." Lupin's voice was very quiet but it succeeded in making Sirius look uneasy.  
"Am I supposed to feel sorry for him after he tried to kill Harry?"   
  
"Who is he?" asked Harry. He remembered very well the shaking man begging for forgiveness at   
Voldemort's feet and the cold indifference of the inhuman punishment of his master. He couldn't avoid   
agreeing with Lupin. The memory alone was a nightmare.  
  
"German Avery was the Assistant Director of the Protection Division back in the old days when   
Voldemort's name was only beginning to surface. He was very popular than and for a good reason. He   
and his agents did a great job, discovering Dark Rings, fighting the smuggling of tools for dark arts and   
growing of forbidden plants. Than there was an attack on his house. He had a nice family, kids and   
wife and they all were killed. He himself was badly injured, spent a long time in St. Mungo and than   
returned to his job more determined to fight the crime than ever. Said nothing could ever change his   
mind." Sirius paused for a moment, remembering.  
"There were even more raids and detentions than before, except that some of the arrested people,   
well… It was established later that they were innocent, but the damage was done, it was too late. And   
people started to die, aurors and agents of the department. Some walked into set-ups, more houses were   
attacked, many families died. Nobody suspected Avery; he was the hero, the first to be attacked after   
all. Until something clicked and somebody realised the he was the only common factor in all the   
failures."   
"Did he go on trial?"   
"Yeah." It could be Harry's imagination but Sirius' voice has sounded a little different.  
"He kept saying he was under Imperius Curse all the time but I doubt there was a one person in whole   
London who believed him. Powerful wizards can break the Controlling curse and it gets much easier   
with the time. Anyway, there was no proof of anything and he stuck to his version; the judges had no   
other chose than to let him go. It was before Barty Crouch came to the Ministry, you see, and good part   
of the reason he got such a huge support. The only thing that happened to Avery was that he lost his job   
and the rests of his good name. He simply disappeared after the trial. Joined Voldemort, no doubt. No   
idea what he had been doing during all those years."   
  
Avery's shaking figure was still in front of Harry's eyes. He chose to keep quiet, but the idea of a fine   
man broken by the perversity of the man with red eyes, loosing everything he ever had and loved and   
than forced to serve the same dark force that did that to him was difficult to get rid of. He felt a hand on   
his shoulder and turned his head. Lupin looked at him with a strange expression, as if he knew what   
was going on in Harry's head. Harry avoided his eyes. He felt stupid feeling sorry for a Death Eater   
that had tried to kill him only that morning.  
  
"It's always very difficult to understand." Harry would rather not discus the subject, but Lupin's hand   
still gripped his shoulder.  
"Many brave people give in when they come face to face with Voldemort, and it doesn't mean they are   
monsters. A moment comes when there is too much fear, too much pain. And they think…. They think   
they'll give in only once, just to win a moment of rest and get their strength back and than face him.   
They never succeed. Once you say yes you are lost forever. Nobody knows what happened to Avery,   
except that it had to be terrible. It doesn't matter why he said yes for the first time. Once you start   
working for Voldemort there is no way back. You can't do him a favour and go on with your life. Once   
Avery accepted he had no other choice than keep doing his dirty work, and he feared his ex-friends   
even more than he feared Voldemort because he knew very well the consequences of his actions. His   
betrayal led the people who worked under his orders and the ones he had to protect to the same torture   
he was trying to avoid."   
  
Lupin's words, far from helping Harry to get rid of the depressing thoughts, made them worse. The   
image of the man screaming on the ground kept playing in front of his eyes, his screams echoing in his   
ears. The more he learned about Voldemort the darker, dirtier and more evil he resulted, and there was   
no end for his perversity. Could something like that happen to him? Would he betray his friends if   
Voldemort used all his power to make him to? What would have happened if he had given in and   
begged for the pain to stop when the Dark Lord told him to?  
  
Lupin let go of Harry's shoulder and hurried toward the castle. They went through the big doors,   
crossed the Great Hall and finally stopped in front of the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the   
Dumbledore's office. The door opened without any password.   
  
But I didn't, Harry reminded himself while he went up the stairs not with pride but with a feeling of   
relieve. I didn't and I won't give in. And my parents didn't, they chose to die and it's thousand times   
better than living the life of traitors.   
  
The secret door was also opened this time, and he followed the crowd into the same room he   
discovered some hours ago. It was already full of people. The feeling of solemnity and peace filled   
Harry again as he stepped inside. Silence reigned in the room. All the conversations died as soon as the   
people entered the place. The mysterious light coming from the stone surface in the middle illuminated   
their faces.   
  
"Fides obligat fidem," A voice said softly in Harry's ear, "means the trust obliges to the trust."   
Dumbledore was staying behind Harry, holding a very old heavy book with thick leather cover and   
uneven yellowish pages. "Every year we have a discussion on whether or not should our students learn   
Latin, and every time we decide to leave it until the next year. You could understand lots of spells   
much better if you knew what they mean." He placed the book on the stone surface and Harry saw that   
it carried a matching inscription in silver letters with an image of the Phoenix in the centre.   
  
"We shall begin."  
  
The crowd opened around him and everyone took his place along the wall. Harry went to stay at   
Sirius's side. Now that everybody was present he could see more familiar faces. Most of his teachers   
were there. Professors Flitwick, McGonagall and Sprout came in after Dumbledore and took their   
places in the circle. Much to his disgust Snape was also there, looking as ill humoured and unfriendly   
as ever. He stood slightly apart from the circle of wizards, with his arms crossed and a defying look on   
his face. Harry wondered if any of the present knew about the Dark Mark on his arm and his past as a   
Death Eater. Of all the people gathered in the room he was the one who should be the most worried   
about the ceremony. To Harry's surprise, he seemed completely at ease. In fact, someone else at his   
side was beginning to get nervous.  
  
"Relax, Moony!" Sirius flustered to Remus Lupin over Harry's head. "It may even turn out to be fun."  
"I don't consider that having twenty people digging in your private life could be described as fun," a   
terse voice answered. The realisation downed at Harry.  
"They can't ask about something they don't know about."  
"They know. Snape must have told everyone by now." Sirius muttered something that Harry was sure   
he wasn't intended to hear. "And don't think I worry about myself. It's you he is after."  
"That grease ball doesn't have the cleanest of pasts himself. I tell you, I'll need to ask him a lot of   
questions before I allow him to as much as wave his wand in my presence."  
  
Dumbledore's words covered the rest of the conversation.   
"I thank you all for coming at such a short notice. We all know what has happened today and had been   
happening for some time now. We know what is at stake. We know what has to be done. But… only   
you yourself know whether you are prepared to take part in the Order of Phoenix. Now it is time for the   
rest of us to find out." He opened the book with a wave of his wand. Suddenly the invisible fire that   
danced on the pedestal became visible and real. The red flames jumped on the paper and licked the   
ancient pages of the book without destroying them.   
"All the people who touch the Book of Phoenix are bounded together by its flames. During the   
ceremony of Bounding you heart opens itself to the Phoenix and all your thoughts and feelings become   
visible." Dumbledore waived his wand once again and turned the page. A wave of light went through   
the room and the flames turned deep green.  
"Those are the colours of your soul." He pronounced. "Green means peace." Another page turned and a   
wave of blue lit his glasses.  
"Trust." Yet another page.  
"Fear."   
"Happiness." Happiness was yellowish.  
"Anger." It was red.  
The pages continued to turn themselves until one of them shone with the impartiality of white light.   
"It's a powerful knowledge, and must be treated with extreme wisdom. Remember it." Dumbledore   
took a step back into the darkness and became part of the circle of silent figures.  
  
Nobody moved for a long time, and Harry had the impression that everyone was slightly intimidated by   
the sight. Finally there was a movement at his side and Arabella stepped inside the circle.  
  
"Ladies first," she said rather nervously and went directly to the book. She held her hands in front of   
the fire, letting the flames touch her skin. Nothing happened. She placed the tips of her fingers on the   
pages of the book as carefully as she would touch the surface of an iron. The fire answered to her touch   
with a wave of light that penetrated into the darkest corners of the room. The flames enveloped her   
whole figure, touched her skin, her robes and her hair and than withdraw back to the book of Phoenix.   
The expression of her face during the time she stood enveloped in fire was solemn. It changed back to   
her nervous smile when the Bounding was over. A bright blue light danced now on the walls   
accompanied by shades of yellow, orange and thousand other colours.   
  
Still nobody said a word. It was impossible to define the individual emotions, but the whole picture was   
just too beautiful to suspect any dark thoughts. Arabella waited patiently for the questions to be asked   
but there were none. The hurricane of colours calmed down and was beginning to change into   
something Harry guessed was boredom.  
  
"Looks like nobody doubts your integrity, Bella. You are as clean as the sky." Arabella smiled at   
Remus Lupin who had turned red under her look. She took her hands from the book and went back to   
her place.  
The indecision was broken. Professor McGonagall took Arabella's place in front of the pedestal and   
touched the pages. Again a wave of light announced that the Phoenix accepted another member in his   
Order. Her colour was the orange of resolve. Again nobody except an old Auror whose name Harry had   
forgotten dared to ask her a question, and the only thing he wanted to know was what had she been   
doing before coming to teach at Hogwarts. It turned out she went to the School of Magical Pedagogic   
in Scotland and came to Hogwarts shortly afterwards at the age of twenty-two.   
  
"We were her very first year." Harry heard Lupin's voice of amazement. "I never knew… She looked   
so much older."   
"I always thought she practised first in a high security school for problematical kids somewhere…"   
Sirius added. The same old Auror who had questioned McGonagall was now staying in front of the   
fire.  
"That explains a lot of things about her." Arabella returned quietly.  
"Like what?"  
"Do you realise how many future generations of students you made suffer through your stupid jokes on   
her?"  
"She was already like that when we came. Can you believe she gave me a detention before the Sorting?   
Said that if I ended up in Gryffindor she would make it two." Sirius argued.  
"And you had nothing to do with the fact that the Sorting had to be postponed two hours while all the   
teachers searched for the Head Boy and Girl who were hiding in the bathrooms after somebody cast a   
Kissing Charm on them?"  
"Me? The only thing I did was to voice the idea. James…"  
  
"Hhhh!" Several wizards at their side were throwing angry looks in their direction. Sirius and Arabella   
shut up and Harry turned his attention back to the ceremony.   
  
Wizards he didn't know came one by one to the centre of the room and became members of the Order.   
The questions they answered were beginning to get boring. He would rather hear some more about the   
things Sirius and his father did at Hogwarts but was forced to listen to explanations about why Mr.   
Donnelly was seen in Knockturn Alley last Easter and whether Mr.. Fletcher's job in the Gringotts   
brought him enough money to buy the last model of a familiar-size Space Expander that allowed him to   
double the number of rooms inside his house (Mungunus Fletcher screamed that he had worked hard   
for many years to earn his money to be accused now of illegal deals and bathed the room in deep red   
light).   
  
Harry's thoughts began to wander. He remembered the time when Dumbledore decided to call all those   
people together. The old crowd… Mungunus Fletcher… Arabella Figg… It hadn't escaped him that   
Arabella Figg sounded very close to Mrs. Figg, the old and crazy lady who lived near the Dursleys at   
Privet Drive. It occurred him that morning already, when she came storming into Dumbledore's office.   
From her reaction time Arabella was certainly somewhere near him when the attack took place. The   
only thing that didn't add up to the scheme was the fact that Mrs. Figg was at least seventy years old,   
but in the wizarding world an Aging Potion couldn't be too difficult to get.   
  
"A question of extraordinary importance. We all will sleep much better tonight knowing that all the   
members of the team punctually pay their taxes." Sirius could certainly lower his voice a little, but this   
time nobody seemed to care. Mungunus Fletcher's money problems of appeared to interest only a few.  
  
It was a perfect opportunity to talk to Arabella, but Harry didn't know how to start a conversation.   
Suddenly inspiration came.  
"Ms. Figg, do you like cats?" He asked in a whisper. If the question seemed strange to her she didn't let   
it show.   
"Not really." She whispered back. It was the only answer. Harry looked at her and realized that she   
stared back at him with a naughty sparkle in her eyes, clearly realising the reason of the questioning   
and waiting to see what would come next. She's laughing at me, understood Harry. He had no idea how   
to go on.   
"Would you believe me if I told you that my mum lives right near your house at Privet Drive?" She   
broke the uncomfortable silence after a long pause.  
"No." Harry answered somewhat brusquely.  
"Well, it's true."   
Harry groaned mentally and turned away. If they were going to treat him like a small child, denying   
something that was really obvious and laughing in his eyes, he didn't have to play along.  
"She's a sweetheart and loves cats very much. And she's the biggest Muggle I know, right after your   
relatives. After all those years she still begs me to explain the secrets of my tricks. And… She loves to   
spend the summer on Mallorca every year." Harry turned back.   
  
"After you found out you were a wizard some people thought you needed special protection, and I got   
the job. It's perfect. I've got to look after the house and the cats. I even get paid for it, nor that I   
wouldn't do it for free. The only problem is that you get no tan under all this make-up." Harry was   
having hard time deciding whether to believe her or not, and supposing he did whether or not to get   
angry at this invasion of his private life.   
  
His reflections ended when he saw Lupin move forward and extend his arms to the fire. Harry was   
startled to realise that apart from Dumbledore it was only he, Sirius and Snape left. It was now when all   
the trouble was about to start. It was clear right away that Lupin was right in being worried. Snape had   
done his task very well.   
  
Uncomfortable silence filled the room. Many pairs of eyes stared at him with a mixture of pity and   
uneasiness. Others were avoiding his gaze. One single question was on everybody's minds but nobody   
wanted to be the one to ask it.  
"Your condition is nobody's business, Lupin," somebody started to say, "but we have to know if   
you…, you know, if something… had happened…"   
Lupin winced as if the man had slapped him, not looking up from the book in front of him.  
"I have never bit anyone." He said hoarsely. Harry knew for sure that the purple light filling the room   
was the colour of tension.   
"Are you sure?" Harry was shocked to realise that the mockingly concerned voice belonged to Sirius.   
"The first year at Hogwarts? You were doing homework in the library with Lily and than she came   
calling for help and saying the Slytherins were hitting you for punching Malfoy for calling her   
Mudblood… Remember? Because when we came it was quite the opposite and when Mc… Professor   
McGonagall asked Crabbe and Goyle what happened they both said you bit their fingers off…" On   
Lupin's taunted face appeared a shadow of a smile. Everyone else except Snape laughed. The image of   
the normally very quiet Remus wildly attacking Crabbe and Goyle Seniors was hilarious. In one   
moment the tension was gone and the mood in the room was back in normal.   
  
Lupin went back and Snape and Sirius both made a step forward. Snape was a little quicker and he was   
the one to take his position in front of the pedestal. He didn't seem worried at all. Quite on the contrary,   
his face wore an oily smile that was a perfect match to his greasy hair. He stared at the rest of wizards   
around him with the air of mocking superiority. His smile became even more twisted as he found Sirius   
in the crowd and locked his gaze with him. Sirius' expression matched his own.  
  
The silent exchange of stares didn't escape anybody in the room, nor was it a surprise for the most of   
the present. All the eyes went from Snape to Sirius and back to the Potions teacher. Snape stretched his   
hands and touched the book. For one moment Harry expected that the flames that enveloped the person   
who bonded with the Phoenix would burn him or the Dark Mark on his arm, or at least don't appear at   
all. Nothing of that happened. The Bonding went on as always, and his face wore the same expression   
of unbelievable wonder all others had. Harry found himself regretting it couldn't be the mask of fear of   
a discovered Death Eater.  
  
"Any questions?" Snape's voice sounded as greasy as his smile was, mocking the people around him   
with his politeness when his entire attitude spoke of disdain. His eyes never left Sirius' face.   
  
But Sirius wasn't looking at Snape anymore. Harry followed the direction of his gaze and found   
himself staring at the moonlike glasses of Albus Dumbledore. The headmaster was looking back at   
Sirius with peculiar intensity in his eyes. Next thing Harry knew, he shook his head slightly. Harry   
blinked and watched again. There could be no mistake. Dumbledore shook his head again and turned   
away like nothing had happened.   
  
Nobody else had witnessed the quick exchange of looks between the two wizards. Everybody was still   
waiting for the cross-examination to begin. Harry could see the confused look at Sirius' face as he   
searched Dumbledore's eyes once more, but the headmaster suddenly became fascinated with the   
curtains on the walls of the room.   
  
"Any questions?" Snape repeated once more. His insolence became suddenly a whole new meaning   
and his voice sounded even oilier if possible to Harry. The protection Dumbledore had granted him   
over the years extended obviously to the solemn Bonding ceremony as well. Under his shelter Snape   
was sure nobody would dare to question his past.   
  
Harry was astonished at the unfairness of it. Had any other person tried to prevent someone from   
finding out the truth about a future member of the Order after so many talking about honesty and trust   
he would immediately define him as dishonest, but Albus Dumbledore was the last person in the whole   
world Harry could accuse of lack of honour. There had to be an explanation for what had happened,   
and Harry hoped it was a very good one.  
  
"Why would anyone want to question you, Snape? We all know you are as innocent as Arabella here."   
Sirius was unable to keep the anger out of his voice. Snape didn't bat an eyelid. He surveyed the people   
in the room from the impunity of his position.  
"As you wish. In that case it's about time we heard some explanation from you, Black." He answered   
coldly and gestured at the pedestal, inviting Sirius to change positions.   
  
Harry suddenly found himself searching the faces around him, trying to catch the look of Professor   
Dumbledore again. The moment his godfather took a step forward he realised how right the headmaster   
had been in not letting this ceremony become a battle of mutual accusations and sharp remarks between   
the members. He could never forget Sirius pleading with him to believe that he didn't betray his   
parents, when he himself believed him to be a cold-blooded murderer with no soul. He hadn't realised   
how afraid he was that the painful story of friendship and betrayal would have to be repeated in front of   
all those people.   
  
Sirius walked decisively to the centre of the room. He wasn't smiling. He placed the hands on the   
surface, clearly wanting to get it done as soon as possible. The fire closed around him for an instant.   
Harry couldn't say if it was his anxiety or the flames clung to him much longer than to the other   
people. He breathed freely only when they let go of his body.   
  
It cost Sirius great effort to look up at the circle of wizards and make his voice sound as calm as   
possible.  
"I am sure you all know the official version about the deaths of Peter Pettigrew and all those Muggles.   
Some may have even heard the part about James and Lily Potter and the Fidelius Charm. I understand   
you need some answers before deciding whether to accept me or not. If you have any doubt about my   
actions, I'm ready to answer."   
  
"It's not necessary, Black. If we had had any doubt about your loyalties you wouldn't have make it past   
this door. We all trust Albus, and if he says you were framed it must be true." Many of the present   
nodded. Harry couldn't say who was more relieved, his godfather or he himself. He found no pleasure   
in digging in the past; there was nothing but pain and betrayal there. Now he could even understand   
Snape in a way. He could have been as innocent as Sirius, but it didn't mean he was eager to relate his   
story to the first stranger.  
  
"All right than. If there is a person here we all agree to put out trust in, it's Albus Dumbledore."   
Snape's conciliatory words didn't match the tone of hatred with which he spoke. He obviously didn't   
want to let go of this opportunity easily.   
"We accept his word that all you pretended was to help your friends. But that doesn't change the fact   
that they are dead only and exclusively because you wanted to mess with the established plan and they   
trusted you enough to agree to it. You'll understand if some of us think twice before doing the same,   
seeing the way the Potters ended."   
  
A curious sound filled Harry's ears. His throat collapsed and breathing became difficult. Rage blinded   
him and mixed his thoughts. One thing was Arabella's friendly teasing and quite another a direct   
accusation. How dared he to blame Sirius of something he surely celebrated it in his dirty heart? Harry   
himself was the only one who had the right of voice in this matter. And never since the day he met his   
godfather did he ever considered him responsible for the death of his parents. Pettigrew was the guilty   
one. And not even him. Every time he thought of Wormtail he remembered not the man he saw in the   
Howling Hut, but the crying man on the ground of the graveyard. And this time he remembered Avery   
as well. It all came back to Voldemort. Not all the people serving him were monsters.  
  
"You are sick." Arabella's words came out barely above a whisper but they were clearly audible in the   
silence that followed.  
  
"Don't worry about friend's betrayal, Snape. It will never happen to you, since you don't have any."   
Harry wished he were the one to say that, but his mind seemed paralysed. The Potions teacher ignored   
Lupin's words and made one step to the centre. The fire on the pages of the Book of Phoenix turned   
nearly black and the light in the room died. Sirius took his hands away with a shudder, as if the dark   
fire suddenly started to burn his flesh. The impersonal white colour filled the room once again.  
  
"The truth hurts, doesn't it, Black?"  
"It does." Sirius' eyes were as dark as the fire was before the magical bond was broken. "Great that you   
have figured it out. Now you'll be telling it much more often, right?"   
Harry wished his godfather sounded a little stronger, or at least felt as strong as he sounded. Snape's   
words had struck very close to home. No matter how innocent in front of the law Sirius was he would   
always carry the guilt of Harry's parent's death on his shoulders. He found himself avoiding Sirius'   
eyes. He knew what he would see there: the dead empty look that he had hoped was gone forever.  
  
"Enough!" One word from Dumbledore was enough to make every head turn in his direction. "Severus,   
I'm very disappointed with you. The last thing I would expect from any of you is to turn this ceremony   
in a private vengeance. Taking advantage of the Bonding is worse that hitting a fallen enemy, and there   
are no adversaries among us, it should be clear to everyone."   
  
Dumbledore had spoke in the same quiet manner he always did but the effect his words made was   
stronger than any punishment. It made Harry hope he never did something bad enough to warrant as   
little as a tiny reproach from the headmaster. Watching Snape turn white was an enjoyable experience,   
but it was not enough to erase the impression his accusation has made.  
  
"We have a common enemy," Dumbledore went on, "an enemy who does things that horrify every   
decent person. Now you have the weapon that can stand up to that evil. You can save innocent lives,   
lives that are lost while you talk here, pointlessly accusing each other of wrongs nobody even believes   
in. You came here today to recreate the Order of Phoenix and choose the worthiest of you to pronounce   
the Enchantment. The first part is done. Now it's time to choose your leader."  
  
Now not only Snape, but also the rest of the crowd looked ashamed. Dumbledore has managed to make   
everyone feel like schoolboys that spent their time playing tricks on each other instead of studying for   
the exams and now had to answer before their headmaster. Harry certainly felt that way, though he had   
nothing to do with the Order of Phoenix directly. Dumbledore's accusing words made him wish he had   
paid more attention to the ceremony.  
  
"But what about you, Headmaster?" Professor Flitwick struggled to get forward and make himself   
hear. It proved to be easier than somebody could expect from a man of his height. Everyone was   
suddenly very interested in what he had to say. Harry remembered that the only time he got really   
furious at somebody was, according to his words during the Bonding, the time when a student cast a   
Shrinking Charm on him by mistake.  
"What about me?"  
"You haven't made the Bond. You aren't a member of the Order."  
"It is only due to the fact that I wasn't planning on becoming one."  
"But you can't make the Phoenix Enchantment without being a…"  
"…part of the Order of Phoenix? You are right. And the reason I am not taking part in it is precisely   
that I don't want to be the one to make the Enchantment. All of you who had expected to take the easy   
way out and choose me will have to find yourself another Phoenix, I'm afraid."   
  
"But why?" "How?" "Why?" A choir of voices asking the same question filled the room.   
The news came as a total surprise to everybody or, better said, as an unwelcome nightmare. Harry was   
sure Dumbledore himself wasn't expecting the effect his announcement made on all the present.  
Him leaving the Order of Phoenix it to its fate after creating it was the last thing everybody in the room   
expected. Even the teachers were as bewildered as the rest. The only one who didn't seem surprised   
was Remus Lupin. He shook his head sadly, as if Dumbledore's announcement was a gesture of   
unavoidable necessity.   
  
"Believe me, I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it was the right thing to do. I will always be ready to help   
where I can, of course." It sounded very much like a doctor trying to sweeten a bitter pill.  
  
"But you are the only one who can have a chance to win against Voldemort! Not to mention that we all   
came here at your call. If we all have anything in common it's that we all are ready to follow you, Sir."  
  
"I would like to hope that you all have something more in common, a determination to fight Voldemort   
for one. Haven't you understood the meaning of the Phoenix yet, Sirius? One person can fall, but it will   
be replaced by another, and yet another. The Phoenix is immortal as long as there are people who keep   
feeding its flames with their faith. The power of one person means very little, exactly as it will mean   
little who makes the Enchantment at the end. The power of the union is what will make Voldemort fear   
you."  
"It does matter who! Not everyone can make the main spell right, and the preparatory ones have to be   
very clean and quick."  
"If all the members of the Order put their trust in you the least you should do is to trust yourself to   
stand up to their expectations."  
"I don't want anybody to put his trust in me." Harry heard Sirius answer but the words were so low he   
couldn't swear he was right.   
"Than why can't you be the one?" Gary Olivander said stubbornly.   
"If it can't be you, it will be nobody." Mungunus Fletcher joined in. Many seemed to be of the same   
opinion.  
"Than another chance to fight Voldemort will be lost. And we aren't going to have many more.   
Harry?"  
Harry was sure that everybody had forgotten about his presence and jumped at the mention of his   
name.  
"I think it will be better if we left them alone to take the decision." With that Dumbledore went to the   
door and out of the room, leaving the newly proclaimed members of the Order of Phoenix alone and   
speechless. Harry had no choice other than follow him through the secret door.  
  
``  
Author's notes: once again, thanks for the huge support and specially constructive criticism (Anna, you   
are right, the Weasley twins are in 7, I corrected it already, thanks. I just got confused because all that   
story of a joke shop made it sound like they were in their last year.)   
Just one thing: does anybody know what Sirius' wand is made of? Many think it's Grim hair but that is   
a little, well… When somebody gets a wand with Grim hair in it he wouldn't be very happy, right? And   
he transforms in a dog, not a Grim. Anyway, I was thinking about something nicer, something to do   
with the stars. If you have any ideas please let me know.  
  
PLEASE REVIEW   



	4. Questions

Disclaimer: Not mine. Never were. Will certainly never be. I can't believe that somebody who   
invented such a wonderful characters would sue me for playing with them a little. I promise to   
return them at the end of the story (I was going to say unscratched, but that would be a huge   
lie…)  
  
A/N: this chapter is the direct result of the axiom "the number of reviews is directly proportional   
to the writer's speed". Many have complained that I write too slow and a few seemed to wonder   
about Harry's role in the Order, so I put this together with those two things in mind.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix  
  
Chapter IV: Questions  
  
Harry obediently followed behind Professor Dumbledore to his office. Without saying a word   
the headmaster motioned for him to take a seat and sat himself in front of his big oak table.   
  
"I am beginning to think I made a huge mistake in handling it the way I did." Dumbledore   
appeared to be talking more to himself than to Harry. He started to go through the mountain of   
papers lying on his desk with an expression of somebody whose mind was indeed very far from   
the task his body was doing. Than he turned to address Harry.  
  
"No sense in sitting here doing nothing but waiting. There are lots of things a headmaster must   
take care of. Would you be so kind as to help me with those admittance letters?" Harry extended   
his hand dutifully and took a couple of paper rolls that laid on the table. It was the last thing he would imagine himself doing just a minute ago. But than, a minute ago Dumbledore's negative to stand in the head of the Order seemed only a threat or a complex joke, and now it seemed serious. Too serious and, worst of all, pointless. He didn't understand Dumbledore's intentions, and by the looks of it, nobody else did.   
  
Harry opened one of the rolls. It was a letter, very similar to the one he himself received five years   
ago and that completely changed his life. The name and address was in white.   
"We will need about forty of that. If you could copy them and give me one by one?"   
Dumbledore held up another piece of parchment with the names of future students on it. Under   
the first list there was another one, with only a couple of names. It held the title "Vacancies". All   
the names Harry recognized on it belonged to members of the Slytherin House. Three were   
students older than him; they would be doing their seventh year. Under each name was a note   
saying that the student won't be attending Hogwarts anymore. There was another Slytherin boy,   
a third-classer named Logan whom Harry had seen a couple of times hanging around Malfoy and   
worshiping him and his cronies. The note under his name said: "transferred to Durmstrang   
Academy".  
  
"It won't do him any good, now that Karkaroff is on the run", Harry thought with a prickle of   
malice. "Durmstrang isn't likely to get itself another Death Eater for headmaster anytime soon."   
Or at least he hoped so.  
  
Whether Dumbledore noticed Harry's gathering at the papers or not, he didn't make any   
comment. He took one of the prepared rolls, touched the first name on the newcomers list with   
his wand and transferred it onto the letter, muttering something Harry didn't understand. The   
name wrote itself on the paper in big, accurate letters, and the address followed automatically.   
Dumbledore put his signature at the bottom and extended his arm in expectance.  
  
"A doubling spell will do it, Harry." Harry had never done   
Multiplying Spells before; they certainly weren't on the school program of the first four courses.   
He had seen Hermione do it many times to organize her notes or write essays and he knew it   
took her some time to master it completely. Her first works looked like something Crookshanks   
had tried to swallow and spitted afterwards. He hesitated only a moment. Without giving himself time to think better and come up with an excuse Harry pointed his wand at the piece of parchment and said "Duate".   
Much to his relieve the result of his first experiment with Multiplying didn't contain one single   
mistake, and the new letter was written on paper as white as the original.   
  
Dumbledore accepted this newly created roll with a little smile and went on transferring the   
names of the future students on the letters. Harry continued to provide new rolls, daring to   
perform a "Tetrate" and "Pentate" spells at the end. His mind, however, was in quite a different   
place, and he was sure that Dumbledore too was waiting impatiently for the outcome of the   
meeting.   
  
Finally all the names on the list were transferred to the letters and Dumbledore signed the last of   
them. No more excuses were left to avoid the topic that worried both of them. Harry's face must   
have shown exactly how he felt, because Dumbledore put his quill apart and smiled at him   
without any hint of happiness.  
  
"You too are questioning my common sense, aren't you, Harry?"  
"No." Harry said answering so quickly he couldn't even pretend it wasn't a lie.   
"I have had no other choice. With the years I have become the leader the wizarding world   
needed to guard itself from the temptations of the power the magic offers, the wise old man who   
told everyone what was right and what was wrong. And with that I have allowed myself to   
become everyone's greatest weakness. It's ironic how I now must use all my influence to get rid   
of it. The time spares no one. The sooner they learn to walk alone, the better."  
  
"What if," once again Harry wasn't sure if Dumbledore was speaking to him or to himself, "what   
if they can't?" He too had thought of Dumbledore when Professor McGonagall explained the   
meaning of the Order of Phoenix to him. Hard as he tried, even now he couldn't imagine anyone   
but the man in front of him to be able to control the spirit of all by the strength of his own.  
  
"It will only prove how right I was in doing what I did. It's not a choice of mine, but a pressing   
necessity."   
  
In the waiting silence the sound of the secret door opening and pairs of foots stepping on the   
stone stairs was clearly hearable and unnervingly foreboding. Finally Dumbledore's door opened   
and a very weary and dejected looking Professor McGonagall entered the room. She didn't need   
to say anything. Harry had seen the Head of Gryffindor House upset on many occasions, angry   
more times he cared to remember, even deadly tired and worried at some points. But never had   
he seen her so hopeless as she looked right than. And never did Dumbledore appear   
more aged and tired.  
  
"They need more time. We all need it." She said finally. "It came so unexpectedly… I know it's   
a very pathetic excuse but I don't have any other."   
  
Dumbledore only signed in response.   
"I see now that should have announced it sooner. I was wrong in the form, but not in the   
message. My decision is irrevocable."  
  
"He does look very old." Harry thought with a sensation close to panic. He tried to remember   
how old the headmaster was by recalling the Dumbledore's card that came with the chocolate   
frogs but couldn't.  
  
"We don't have time for modesty attacks and pretensions of democracy! You said you would   
help us. At least help us to decide!"  
"I could always point my finger at the one I think to be the worthiest and voice my choice,   
Minerva. But what good would it make if he doesn't consider himself to be up to the challenge?   
If you don't believe that you can do it you will never cast as much as a Multiplying Charm, right,   
Harry?"  
"Right." Harry answered, and wondered for the thousandth time how much exactly did   
Dumbledore know about every person who stepped on Hogwarts grounds. Professor   
McGonagall chose not to answer. She busied herself with the admittance letters, signing all of   
them with a quick charm and one move of her quill.  
  
"I'll take them to the Owlery," she offered.  
"Don't bother, Minerva. We will send that."  
  
Once again Harry was forced to follow Dumbledore. It was as if after all the events of the day   
the headmaster had decided not to let him from under his vigilance unless forcibly necessary.   
The few people the met going past the secret room and along the maze of empty corridors   
avoided Dumbledore's gaze.   
  
A dozen school owls greeted them with naughty pricks, clearly knowing the drill and looking   
forward to some traveling after the slow summer. One by one they approached the headmaster,   
took their letters and disappeared in the night. Harry leaned against the open window and   
watched them fly over the lake that laid directly under the tower and disappear in the direction of   
the Forbidden Forest.   
  
Suddenly a movement and a couple of words from the direction of the lake caught his attention.   
Two figures were staying there talking quietly, but the nightly breeze carried their words clearly   
in the stillness of the night. Harry recognized the voices at once. One belonged to Remus Lupin,   
the other to his godfather.  
  
"I am not coming with you. A couple of days and I would miss the ceremony altogether."   
The silver moon was shining high above the lake. It couldn't be more than two or three days   
before it was full.   
"You don't have any more Wolfsbane?"  
"No. I would prefer thinking that Snape simply forgot about it in the middle in all the commotion   
to knowing that he still hates me strong enough to ignore a college's polite request."  
"Damn! Maybe if I had kept quiet…I forgot that he was also there, admiring the handiwork of his senior   
Slytherins. Did you bite him too?"   
  
Harry didn't feel like shouting in the middle of the night, so he waived his hand trying to attract   
attention. His shadow had to be clearly visible against the bright window, but none of the two   
were looking in his direction.   
  
"It wasn't funny! You almost gave me a heart attack back there! What the hell did you think you   
were doing?"  
"Come on, Moony," came the lazy answer, "there is not enough excitement in your life."  
"I have all the excitement I need. Once a month, twelve times a year! Thank you very much for   
asking before opening your mouth." Lupin didn't sound as upset as his words implied.  
"Your condition has nothing to do with your integrity, but they had to make a question of   
principle out of it. When people start acting like idiots no reasoning will ever convince them.   
What they need is a good distraction. And distractions are one thing I was always good in."  
"No, that was Peter. Nobody could ever backfire the wand as credible as he did." Lupin's voice   
suddenly sounded detached, stating an objective fact without showing any emotion. When Sirius   
spoke again, his tone too had changed completely.   
  
"I can't believe we have been joking around and laughing today, when Voldemort is there,   
striking again, and James is dead and Peter…"  
"You know what I can't believe?" Lupin interrupted impatiently. "That we spent fourteen years   
without a good laugh. Come on, Padfoot! It's your job to come up with the joke to brighten up   
everyone's day, not mine."   
"In case you didn't notice, nothing good had happened lately." Sirius returned bitterly. "I am not   
saying I don't understand Dumbledore's reasons, but why precisely now? We were about to   
archive something!"  
"Had it ever occurred to you that Dumbledore isn't omnipotent and all-knowing?"   
"Every time I transform." Harry thought he could hear the grin spreading on Sirius' face.  
"And that he isn't immortal?" The grin was instantly gone.  
  
There was no argument against that. Harry watched the shadow of his godfather take a stone   
from the ground and send it spinning over the surface of the lake. It jumped twice, leaving   
behind sets of circles on the black water. Than, remembering something, Sirius took another   
stone from the pocket of his jeans. Moon reflexes jumped over the surface of the Portkey.  
  
"You still have it?" asked Lupin.  
"It should belong to the one who makes the Enchantment. It's the key to his training, the door to   
access the book and the spells. In absence of such I've got to have it a little longer." He hung it   
around his neck and stuck the medallion under his shirt. "It's got to be the only good thing about   
today. Nor that I wouldn't gladly pass it to somebody who can give it a better use."  
"You yourself can give it a better use."   
"Me?" Sirius' laugh was so amused it sounded almost insincere. "Fudge will be very happy   
to know that the fugitive murderer everyone is looking after is making Phoenix Enchantments   
right under Ministry' nose."  
"And since when do you care about Fudge and the Ministry?"  
  
Harry was still staying quiet, feeling a little guilty for spying on about the only people he trusted   
fully but not able to do anything else. Only now he noticed that Dumbledore too had come closer   
to the window and was also listening for the conversation. At that moment he would have given a   
lot to know what the headmaster was thinking. It seemed completely impossible that all of the   
events of that day weren't completely under his control, a part of a bigger plan with solutions for   
every occasion. But as Moony has just put in, Dumbledore wasn't omnipotent, and the sad   
expression that crossed his face at Sirius' next words only confirmed Harry's fears.  
  
"OK, it's a lame excuse. I just plain don't want to have anything to do with this whole thing."   
Whatever Lupin answered it was too low for Harry to hear.  
"You know me, Moony," Sirius continued almost pleadingly. "I'd do anything I can to fight   
Voldemort, anything at all, but not this. The Phoenix Enchantment is like… Like being in   
Azkaban and having the Fidelius Charm replay over and over. I wouldn't even be here, but   
Dumbledore asked and I have yet to find someone who can say no to Dumbledore. Specially   
after he gave me the Portkey."  
"It's Snape, isn't it? You didn't by any chance believe anything he said about…"  
"But he is right." Sirius said slowly. "I let down Lily and James, and that night in the tunnel I let   
you down as well. The fact that I didn't mean to is no excuse. Snape may be a bastard but he's   
not stupid, not even I ever said that of him."  
"So you are going to keep away from the Order. Do you want to keep away from Harry as well   
just to avoid letting him down? Sorry to tell you that, but you are choosing the easy way out,   
that's what all this talk is about."  
"I can't, Moony, believe me. I just can't."   
  
The door to the Owlery opened and closed, announcing Dumbledore's departure.   
This time he did not make any sign for Harry to follow.   
  
"In that case we both have good excuses not to take part is this. Werewolves and Phoenixes   
don't mix very well and you… can't either. The only thing we can do is to follow whoever we   
must and pray it's not Snape." Lupin didn't make any effort to pretend to sound convinced.   
Sirius busied himself picking up another stone and sending into the water.   
"Than why do I feel like I let Dumbledore down?" He asked quietly.  
  
Harry had have enough of this involuntary eavesdropping. He already turned to leave behind Dumbledore when an unexpected question reached his ears.   
"What connection does Harry have to the Order?" Sirius blurted out, completely changing the   
topic of conversation.  
"Harry?"  
"Dumbledore wanted expressly that he was present at the ceremony. Why?"  
"Because he didn't have anything else to do? Because he didn't want to let him out of sight after   
what happened today? Because... I don't know, do there have to be a reason?"  
"I can't imagine Dumbledore doing something without a good reason. I was just wondering…"   
He stopped. Harry didn't think there was a real motive, but he was puzzled about why Sirius was both   
worried and so reluctant to speak about the matter.  
  
"Everyone knows that the healing spells usually work better when cast with a wand containing a   
unicorn hear, simply because the nature of the magic it carries comes to unison with the spell."   
Sirius started vaguely. "Is it possible that the Phoenix Enchantment would work better if cast   
with a wand containing a phoenix feather?"  
  
"What?!" Lupin succeeded in expressing all Harry's thoughts in one exclamation. He took one   
step from the window. All of a sudden he didn't want to be found listening to the conversation.   
The blood was pulsing feverishly in his temples. He looked around, but quickly remembered that   
Dumbledore was already gone.   
"Nothing, just thinking."  
"Try thinking a bit less and, for Merlin's sake, don't go around giving Harry any ideas."   
  
Harry wasn't listening anymore. He run all the way back from the Owlery to the gargoyle at the entrance of Dumbledore's office and than to the Great Hall looking for the headmaster before realizing that even if he found him, he wasn't going to ask anything.   
  
He was still in a very upset state of mind when he finally run into Sirius, who was looking for him to say   
goodbye. They talked about staying in touch, about Harry having to live at Hogwarts till the end   
of the summer and a little about Quidditch. Not just once did Harry mentioned the Order and   
less the conversation he had just overheard. He was furious with himself. He never wanted to have   
anything to hide from his godfather, and fervently wished he hadn't stuck his nose where it   
didn't belong. But more that anything, he wished that Sirius were dead wrong. The problem was,   
the more he thought about the matter the more undeniable facts were surfacing.  
  
He was so lost in thoughts he didn't remember how he got to the Gryffindor Tower. The rests of   
his birthday fest still laid around the common room. The windows were opened in spite of the   
nightly hour and Hedwig was patiently waiting for him with a letter tied to her right leg. Another   
letter was lying on the floor near the window. Harry could think of only one owl that treated the   
post with so little thoughtfulness.   
  
He went up to the empty fifth-years dorm, sat on the solitary looking bed and examined the   
letters. The first one was from Hermione. She wished him happy birthday and sent him an auto-  
underlining quill as a present. (Don't loose any more time searching through your whole set of books.   
This Quill will find and mark all the information you need for you!). She obviously didn't   
hear about the attack yet. Ron's letter, so careless delivered by Pigwidgeon was quite different. It   
was only a piece of scratched parchment written in a hurry, asking al least four times what had   
happened and if Harry was OK.   
  
Harry left both letters on the bed-table and started to undress. He knew he should at least write to   
Ron and reassure him of his well being, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Other things were on   
his mind.   
  
The Order of Phoenix. His wand. The Reversal Spell effect that took place when his and   
Voldemort's wands connected. Fawkes, miraculously coming to save him. All that memories and   
many other were swirling in his mind, refusing to come to any reasonable conclusion. There was   
no way around it. As much he wanted to pretend he was a normal schoolboy, he was connected   
to Voldemort in more ways he could ever imagine.   
  
Harry folded up his clothes and left them on the table. Something fell out of the pocket of his   
jeans. It was the Voluntariatum gem, the first present he received on this eventful fifteenth   
birthday. Harry picked it up and hid it in the depth of his coffer. Now that he wasn't going to see   
the Dursleys for another whole year he doubted very much he would be using it any time soon.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
More A/N: I really hope you liked it, because I changed it a little according to the reviews I got.   
Anyway, this was fast but I normally write quite slowly. The exams are coming and since   
creative HP writing isn't one of my subjects I will do the best I can, but can't promise anything.   
Just bear with me, OK?  
Huge thanks to all who gave ideas about Sirius' wand. I didn't use that yet but I will.  
In the nest chapter: the school starts and some changes are made. Ten Galleons to the one who   
guesses who the new DADA teacher will be!  
  
I have put a spell on this page so that you can't get out without writing a review!  
OK, it'a a lie but since you put up with my writing so long you could at least tell me why you did it!  



	5. Double Snape

Disclaimer: Do I really have to write one at the beginning of every chapter?   
A/N: You keep this alive! By the way, nobody guessed who the DADA teacher would be. Does the title ring any bells?  
P.S: I re-posted this chapter because I forgot some important credits (it's at the end if you're interested).   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix  
  
Chapter V: Double Snape  
  
The time passed quickly at Hogwarts. The emptiness of the halls that innerved   
Harry at first quickly became a blessing. There was nobody to tell him what to   
do, no Dursleys to pester him, no Filch to chase him in the corridors. He would   
have been the happiest of boys if Ron were there to enjoy with him. They could   
hang around Hogsmeade or explore the multiple passageways like his father and   
his friends did a long time ago. Harry missed Hermione as well, but if her   
letters were of any indication she had no time to take part in adventures. The   
OWLs were coming.  
  
Harry received regular letters from his friends and Sirius and felt that he was   
much more in touch with the wizarding world there at Hogwarts that at Privet   
Drive, though he still wasn't allowed to perform any magic. He didn't miss the   
Dursleys at all.  
  
He contented with practising Quidditch a lot and studying some. Dumbledore was   
out of school most of the time and so was Professor McGonagall, but one teacher   
or another was always there to keep an eye on him. Hagrid came back in the first   
week of August from wherever he had been and refused blankly to speak about his   
mission. The library and the kitchens were two other places he visited   
frequently.   
  
The time passed quickly. The morning of the first September resulted to be   
exactly like all August mornings had been. Nothing except the sight of Hagrid   
checking the dozen of boats for the first-years announced that the Hogwarts   
Express would be coming in no time to bring life and animation to the sleepy   
castle.   
  
After wandering around the halls and not finding any hint of preparation for the   
welcome party Harry decided to go down to the train station. He was feeling a   
little bit alone for the first time in a month but full with anticipation a the   
same time. It was a curious feeling, watching the train appear on the curve,   
come to halt on the platform and open its doors to let the multitude of students   
finally pour from its depth.   
  
Blissfully, finding the red hairy and lanky Ron in the crowd was quite easy, and   
Hermione was close by. Harry fought his way through the tide of pushing students   
to join his friends.   
  
"Great that you are here! You can help me to carry those!" Ron announced in a   
way of greeting and shoved in Harry's hands a heavy bag from Flourish and Blouts   
with all the books the Weasleys bought for him in Diagon Alley.   
  
Hermione said nothing. She just hugged him so tightly like he was a long lost   
friend coming home from the clutches of unspeakable danger. The conversation had   
to be interrupted. Familiar faces were appearing from every direction,   
bombarding Harry with predictable questions about his last adventure.  
  
"Is it true? You-know-who was at your house?"  
"Have you seen him? Is he really two meter high and looks like a dead corpse?"   
"It was all over the newspapers! It said they needed twenty Hit Wizards to drive   
the Death Eaters away!"   
It sounded very suspiciously like Rita Skeeter's handiwork. Harry found himself   
going over the whole story for the thousandth time. Blissfully, most of the   
curiosity was satisfied by the time they all got into the carriages.   
  
  
"We've met Draco Malfoy on the train." Hermione announced after closing the door   
and making sure Harry was able to hear her voice. "He wasn't very happy about   
You-know-who's failure. He tried to give us a conference on the purity of   
lineage, but we didn't listen."  
"She made some kind of spell and every time he tried to say Mudblood the only   
thing that came out were dog barks." Ron interrupted excitedly. Hermione lit up   
with pleasure. It wasn't very often when she got credit from Ron for exhibiting   
her vast knowledge.  
"It's an application of an Imperio Charm to the process of speaking, I've read   
about it in our Defence against Dark Arts book..." she started, but Ron   
interrupted again.  
"Hermione, you are our hero. Keep up the good work but save us the details, OK?"   
Pretending he had to tie his boot he bent down to Harry and whispered to him:  
"I made a bet with Fred and George that she won't be able to sit through the   
whole Sorting and Welcome fest without starting a discussion about the OWLs.   
Five Galleons, but if I loose I'll have to try out their new inventions for a   
week."  
  
Harry grinned. Happy as he was at meeting his friends he couldn't escape a   
feeling of shame and a bit of loneliness. True to his word to Professor   
McGonagall he didn't mention any of the details concerning the Order in his   
letters to his friends. It had been easy in writing. But now face to face with   
Ron and Hermione Harry was finding it increasingly difficult to lie. The worst   
of all was that he wanted nothing else but to tell his friends everything, and   
especially the conversation on the lake he had overheard. He would feel much   
better if he heard his friends laugh at the idea of him being the Phoenix. He   
was mostly able to drive out those thoughts himself, but sometimes in the night   
he wasn't so sure and he laid in the dark feeling the polished wood of his wand   
under his fingers.  
  
Getting out of the carriage they were greeted by the sight that made Harry   
forget his worries. Draco Malfoy was trying to speak to the Slytherin prefect   
about the incident on the train and failing miserably to make the impression   
he's hoped for.   
  
"I only said *** and she cursed me and now I can't say ***." The prefect didn't   
look enthusiastic at all. Worse, the students moving in the general direction of   
the castle were sending the barking boy bizarre looks and trying to get past him   
as soon as possible. Harry doubted Malfoy would be going to any of the   
professors with that. The spell was proving to be extremely handy. He made a   
mental note to check his Dark Arts book for more similar stuff.  
  
By the time he entered the Great Hall behind Ron and Hermione Harry didn't feel   
himself any different from the rest of the students. The room that was empty and   
silent only that morning now shone with the familiar warmth of welcoming. They   
took their seats at the Gryffindor table and watched the first girl be sorted   
into Slytherin. It reminded Harry of something.  
  
"Some of the students dropped out of school. I saw the letters in Dumbledore's   
office. They all were Slytherins."  
"Hm... Maybe they have finally figured out they will never make it to graduation."   
Offered Hermione serving some salad onto her plate with a wave of her wand.  
"Some got transferred to Durmstrang. I think they want to join Voldemort."  
"One thing doesn't lead to the other. Only because somebody goes to Durmstrang   
doesn't mean he is evil!" Hermione noted indignantly.  
"Not Krum again!" Ron rolled his eyes.  
"Again?" Asked Harry.  
"He spent the whole trip trying to find out where I spent the summer!" Moaned   
Hermione.   
"But didn't do to Bulgaria, right? Your parents wouldn't let you go just like   
that."  
"Maybe. But then again, I wouldn't be likely to tell you even if I were there!"   
  
Harry put a quick end to the beginning tension by saying something he knew both   
Ron and Hermione would agree to:  
"Pity they couldn't send all the Slytherins to some hidden school very far from   
here!"  
"Put them all on a ship and let it sink on the way!" Ron added helping himself   
to a second portion of pineapple cake.   
  
At the Slytherin table Draco Malfoy was welcoming the new students. He obviously   
tried to say something he shouldn't have because his whole table was hovering   
with laughter and he was glaring at Hermione with a murdering stare.  
  
"How long will he be like that?" Harry asked.  
"I don't know, but I hope he recovers before the classes start. The spell I   
used, it's really nasty."  
"It's perfect! I don't mind him staying that way forever." Hermione seemed   
unconvinced. In fact she seemed a little uncomfortable when somebody mentioned   
the spell.  
  
"Does anybody know who will be teaching Defence against Dark Arts this year?"   
She clearly intended to change the conversation.  
"What?" Harry was taken by surprise by the question. He looked at the table   
where the teachers sat and instantly understood what Hermione meant. Dumbledore   
was sitting in the middle, as cheerful as any of the previous years. Professors   
McGonagall and Snape were sitting near him, along with the rest of the   
personnel. There were no new faces at the table.   
  
"Dunno." Answered Harry with the mouth full of pumpkin pudding. He was   
accustomed to the excellent food at Hogwarts, but this outdid any of the meals   
the kitchen elves prepared for him in the last month.  
  
"Hope it's Moody!" Grinned Fred and George.   
"Having Professor Lupin again would be nice." Said Neville. He had been very   
afraid of Mad-Eye Moody even when the Auror was nice to him.   
"It's not him, I'm sure. And if we are to have Moody it better be the real one."   
Corrected Harry. It still bothered him that the famous Auror who gave him   
classes last year turned out to be a condemned Death Eater.  
"Hope nothing happened to him on the way here." Joined Ron.  
"More biting dustbins!"  
"Poisonous snakes!"  
"Flesh-eating flowers in the garden!"  
  
Dumbledore's voice was the only thing that succeeded in shutting up the excited   
chatting of the Weasley twins.  
  
He welcomed the first-years, went over the common announcements, explained the   
forbiddance of the Forbidden Forest and the importance of the hundred and fifty-  
seven Filch's rules before moving to the topic that interested the Gryffindors   
most.  
  
"For the fifth year in road I have the pleasure to introduce a new teacher for   
the Defence against the Dark Arts class to all of you. As the older students   
remember, many distinguished teachers have held that post in the past, but for   
different reasons nobody was able to stay long. I hope that this year it will be   
quite different. I am happy to announce that Professor Severus Snape, who has   
been our Potion teacher for quite some time, has kindly agreed to take this   
post."  
  
The applause from the Slytherin's table wasn't enough to fill the Great Hall.   
Some students from Hufflepuff and Rawenclaw joined in politely but stopped when   
it became clear that nobody from Gryffindor planned to move a finger. Far from   
looking pleased about his new position, Snape stared at the students with a   
peculiar expression. To anyone who knew him it looked exactly like badly hidden   
loathing.  
  
"He doesn't look very happy." Hermione seemed to read Harry's mind.  
"Must have realised by now how loved he is in this school."   
"I think he is trying to remember all the people who didn't applaud to give them   
a detention." Neville whispered from over the table.  
"He can't send three quarters of the school to detention!" Retorted Hermione.   
  
Ron looked positively green at the idea of having Snape for Dark Arts teacher.  
"Do you reckon my mum will be very furious if I drop out of Hogwarts in fifth   
year?" He seemed to give the idea a good thought.   
"See? Maybe the people who got transferred to Durmstrang knew what they were   
doing..."   
  
"Dumbledore trusts him." Harry interrupted the conversation. And the Phoenix   
accepted him, after all, he thought to himself.   
"Since when are you on Snape's side?" The entire Gryffindor table stared at him   
incredulously.   
  
Saying that Harry was on Snape's side was like saying that Dumbledore was on   
Voldemort's. Harry could think of nothing else that could ruin the evening so   
quickly and fully, but was determined not to let anything get to him. He was   
alone in this battle. Nobody but the Weasley twins had any hunger anymore, and   
even they spend the moments between bites telling the nervous first-years   
frightening tales about Snape's teaching methods. One by one people stood up and   
left the table, making excuse about being tired after the trip. The truth was,   
nobody wanted to sit there under the looks of triumph coming from the   
Slytherins.  
  
By the time they all left the table and went up the Gryffindor fifth-year's   
dormitory Harry was finally able to come up with a positive thought concerning   
Snape.   
"Come on," he called Ron, who was furiously preparing his bed for sleeping, "I   
agree that there's nothing worse than Snape in Dark Arts. But before there was   
nothing worse than Snape in Potions. We'll just change the subject we hate   
most."   
  
There was no answer before Ron drew the curtains around his bed. When Harry   
finally gave up and closed his eyes he heard his friend saying loudly for the   
whole dorm to hear:  
"Can you believe that I spent the whole summer actually looking forward to   
coming back here?"   
  
Nothing Harry could say was going to cheer Ron up. It made no sense trying, and   
much less bringing some bad news. In the agitation of the day Hermione hasn't   
mentioned the OWLs at all. Harry just wondered what kind of new Weasley Wizard   
Wheezy product would Ron's brothers make him try.   
  
  
  
  
Hermione made up for her unforgivable forgetfulness right in the next morning   
when she greeted the boys with a cheerful phrase:   
"I've checked the new plan and we now have two hours on Friday evening specially   
for the preparation of the OWLs."  
"Isn't it thoughtful? The year before we had the same two hours specially for   
free time!" Ron's mood hasn't changed over the night, and the fact that Fred and   
George had already talked to him didn't make the things any better. He snapped   
the paper from Hermione's hand and looked through it. Harry expected him to put   
on a grimace of anger but Ron did something much more frightening. He smiled.  
  
"Harry? You wanted to know what could be worse than Snape at Dark Arts or   
Potions?"  
"Nothing?" He guessed, and from the expression of his friend's face he knew he   
was quite wrong.  
"Try Snape in Dark Arts and Potions."   
"Try Professor Snape in Double Dark Arts and Potions." A voice from behind the   
table joined in. "Looks like we have a meeting with the Gryffindor loosers after   
the lunch." Draco Malfoy and a group of Slytherins smiled cheerfully at them.  
"Hey, Malfoy! Can you say "Mudblood" for all of us? I miss my puppy!" George   
called. Draco Malfoy went red and some of the Slytherins tried hard to suppress   
a laugh. Gryffindor table didn't do for that trouble.  
"I know where you got that spell from." Draco muttered between clenched teeth to   
Hermione. She turned away.  
  
Half and hour later Harry and Ron were climbing the stairs, looking forward to   
their first Divination lesson. Clutched in Harry's hand was a letter from Sirius   
that a grey and tired-looking owl brought him at breakfast. His godfather wanted   
to know how the first day of school went. Harry thought he was going to have a   
lot to tell him after putting up with Snape and Slytherins for two hours.  
  
"If there's something good about having so much of Snape it has to be that it   
makes you look forward to all the other classes and be grateful you don't have   
to face him yet." Hermione said to them before heading for Aritmancy.  
  
The plan had worked well until Professor Trelawney gave each one of them a pack   
of cards, told to open the books on page six and announced that the most   
talented student in the class will be given an opportunity to foresee what   
subjects may come up in their OWLs with her own crystal ball at the end of   
semester. They had to work in pairs and she insisted that Lavender and Parvati,   
being the two most gifted students in the class helped Harry and Ron to develop   
their Inside Eyes.   
  
Harry's first card turned out to be the black king.   
"No wonder." Lavender Brown assumed a patronizing air. "You have got You-know-  
who in you future in every Divination lesson, from crystal balls to tea leaves."  
"Voldemort's not a king!" Protested Harry. "Only because he's back doesn't mean   
he has won already!" The only answer he got was a point blank stare at the   
mention of the fearful name.   
  
He tossed the cards on the table and took another one. It was a diamond knight.   
The figure on the card winked at him naughtily. Harry smiled. He had a very good   
idea about who this man could be.  
  
"Now explain, my children." Professor Trelawney emerged from behind their backs   
and was examining the cards.  
"It's very clear, Professor!" Lavender started. "Here's the negative force, and   
here's the positive. Harry's got an enemy, but he's also got a protector, he   
stays between him and You-know-who..."  
"Not quite right, my dear." Professor Trelawney's smoky voice had lost a bit of   
its mystery and acquired some didactical notes. "See the nine of spades here? It   
changes everything."  
  
Harry groaned both mentally and physically. For the first time in quite a lot   
something seemingly close to truth had come out of a Divination lesson.   
Something that didn't end with his death or some global disaster. But she   
couldn't have that, could she?  
  
"Changes what? Does my enemy become my friend or something?" The diamond knight   
was real, and Harry wasn't about to hear somebody say that Sirius didn't exist.  
"The positive force that stays between you and the evil, it won't protect you   
forever. His strength will come to an end, and you will change places. You will   
stand in the middle of the battle." Harry didn't have enough presence of mind to   
hide the expression on his face. It told quite clearly what he thought of this   
prediction.   
  
Ron's fortune turned out much more prosaic.   
"A queen of spades all the time. Do you reckon my mum will be sending me Howlers   
of what?"   
"A queen of spades is considered to bring good luck to somebody who sees it   
three time in a road." Parvati explained patiently. At least somebody was having   
good luck that day.  
  
They went back to the main part of the castle and met Hermione at the entrance   
to the Transfiguration classroom. Being the Head of House Gryffindor Professor   
McGonagall started the lesson by explaining the dynamic of the OWLs once more.   
They were to have intermediate exams before Christmas and Easter vacations to   
assess their knowledge before the actual OWLs took place in summer. On Friday   
evenings an intensive practical preparation would take place for all who needed   
it.  
  
"And for now I've seen only one student in this class transform a stone into an   
eatable hamburger." Even the point of Hermione's nose became red with pleasure.   
She could be the only one who didn't need the extra practise, but she surely   
would be the first one to go there.  
  
"The part of Transfiguration we will be studying this year is advanced magic   
already. Only the simplest notions of it will be expected from you. It has to do   
with Materialization. Who can tell me what does it mean? Mr. Weasley?"  
"Probably Hermione, Professor." It wasn't the answer Professor McGonagall   
expected but she gave him the benefit of the doubt and turned in the direction   
of Hermione's waving hand.  
  
"Materialization involves a Transfiguration in which a tiny part of many objects   
is taken to create a new entity, so that the basic source of matter remains   
seemingly unchanged."  
"Very accurately explained, Miss Granger. The right Materialization borrows   
matter from the ground, the trees, even the air around us. Knowing that, where   
would it be unwise to perform one?"  
  
A couple of hands rose this time.   
"In a closed room? You'll use all the air and die." Parvati offered.  
"You can use the walls and the floor."   
"In a closed room with Preserving charms on the walls?" Neville made a   
correction.  
"In a room full of gold!" That was Ron's idea.  
"In space." Said Seamus, whose father was a Muggle.  
  
"That's some of it. As I said before, you are not expected to perform advanced   
Materialization, but by the end of the year you should be able to combine   
several objects into one."  
  
They spend the rest of the class taking notes on the origins and history of the   
technique and stopped only when it was time for lunch. Nobody had a lot of   
appetite. The wonderful fries and sandwiches had lost all their attraction. Ron   
announced he didn't want to eat anything to avoid vomiting it after seeing   
Snape. The Slytherins looked happier than ever.   
  
Considering that nobody was in much of a hurry to see Professor Snape it took   
Harry and his friends a surprisingly small amount of time to finish eating and   
get to the right classroom. Stomaching him was bad enough; coming late was pure   
suicide. As a result all the Gryffindor fifth-years were sited and ready by the   
time the hook-nosed teacher entered the room. The silence was complete.   
  
"Well, well, well." Snape started happily. "I see no need of introductions here.   
We know each other very well indeed. I must make it clear, anyway, that someone   
who is hopeless in Potions can't expect to do any better in the intricate art of   
defence against the dark forces."   
  
Neville went whiter than it seemed possible only a second ago at hearing that.   
  
"I don't expect any of you to understand the beauty of the interaction between   
the light and the darkness," Snape went on.  
"Beauty?" muttered Harry incredulously. If there was something close to beauty   
in there he hoped indeed he would never understand it.  
"But," barked Snape, turning to where he was sitting and hammering him to the   
chair with his stare, "I will make sure that nobody leaves this class without   
having a notion of the essential dark curses and a good look at their   
consequences. Now, who can explain the basic classification of the dark curses   
to me?"  
  
Nobody moved a muscle. They did a lot of work on that the last year with Mad-Eye   
Moody, but he never cared much for the theoretical studies, preferring to go   
straight to the practical applications.  
  
"I see... You are not the expert on curses Headmaster Dumbledore considers you to   
be." That was something Hermione couldn't bear. She held up her hand shyly, as   
if the knowledge of the classification of Dark Arts was a crime in itself. Snape   
stared at her without saying anything, and she took it for an invitation to   
speak.  
  
"The Dark curses are classified considering their target. Two basic groups are   
mind affecting curses and body affecting curses. The first are usually more   
powerful and..."  
"Enough! Who can give me an example of a Mind-controlling curse?"  
  
"Obliviate!"  
"Privo Sensorium!"  
"Imperio!"  
"Ilusio Sensorium!"  
Trust the Slytherins to know that kind of things.   
"Five points to everybody who named a curse."  
Snape was obviously very pleased with his House.  
  
At Harry's side Ron was boiling with anger. "Five points for every fool whose   
father is a Death Eater and nothing for Hermione, and what she answered was more   
tricky!"  
"Ron, control yourself. We won't be getting any points here, that should be   
clear already. We will be lucky to get away without loosing some." Draco Malfoy,   
who chose this precise moment for asking a question, distracted Hermione from   
calming Ron down.  
"What is the punishment for using a curse like Verba Imperio"? Hermione went   
white like the snow at hearing that.  
  
"It's not punished very strictly by the magical law, mostly because it's not of   
any actual use. But it's a mind-controlling curse by definition, which means   
it's Dark Magic, enough to keep an eye on everyone who has been known to perform   
it. It's certainly not allowed in this school. Where did you hear about it?"   
Snape looked kindly at his favourite student. Malfoy in his place glared at   
where Hermione was sitting enjoying like a spider that has got a fly in his web.   
  
"I don't remember now. Just heard it... from somebody." Harry's right hand let go   
of the quill and gripped his wand. He couldn't believe that the curse Hermione   
used was illegal, but now wasn't the right time for dealing with that. To his   
relief Malfoy didn't continue, but the malicious flames in his eyes said he   
wasn't planning on letting go of the matter.  
  
"Well, looks to me that only a half of the class has prepared the lesson. Do any   
of you know the essentials of contracursing?" The question was addressed to the   
Gryffindors alone.   
  
"Potter, contracurse for Terrificius!" Snape pushed the matter. He could have   
asked about the number of unicorns in the Forbidden Forest according to the last   
cense. Harry was completely clueless and he said so.   
  
"Oh, really? I would have thought that the great Harry Potter was an expert in   
fighting the Dark Arts. Or maybe his reputation is a little overblown? We will   
take five points from Gryffindor to refresh your mind and try again. Ilusio   
Sensoria!"   
  
Snape had found his golden mine. He could go on until the end of the class,   
naming curses Harry had never heard about and taking points from Gryffindor at   
his will. And knowing him as they all did, that was exactly what he planned to   
do. To Harry's great relief Hermione came to the rescue.  
  
"Haloperidol!" She whispered urgently. Harry didn't waste time to find out if   
Snape had overheard.  
"Haloperidol!" He shouted. Maybe a little too triumphantly. Snape still looked   
very pleased with himself, and it couldn't mean anything good.   
"Very well. You will earn ten points... after you show us all how to use this   
spell. Now!"  
  
Harry realised that he had fallen into the trap. He looked around, but he knew   
nobody could help. Not even Hermione knew how to actually cast the contracurse.   
Theoretical knowledge just wasn't enough sometimes.   
  
Very slowly Harry started to get up.   
"Harry, don't! You have no idea what you are against!" Ron tried to stop him by   
gripping his arm and forcing him to sit down again but didn't succeed.  
  
He moved to the forward of the class, very aware of the Slytherins in the first   
rows looking at him with morbid interest and the white faces of the Gryffindors   
behind them.   
"If I end up in infirmary they may end up expelling Snape for attacking a   
student." Harry thought darkly. It could even be worth the trouble.  
  
But the hope was extinguished when Snape asked casually.  
"Do any of you know how to actually cast the Illusion Charm?"  
"I know, Professor!" The voice of Draco Malfoy sent chills down Harry's spine.   
He preferred dealing with Snape by far, he could always write his failure down   
to Snape's questionable experience in the dark curses. But with Draco it was   
different.  
  
Malfoy positioned himself in front of Harry and took out his wand. Harry tried   
to act logically and to figure out what kind of magic he was facing. The curse   
was easy enough. Ilusio Sensoria could be nothing but a hallucination, most   
probably a very dark one. The problem was, the word Haloperidol didn't ring any   
bells in his head and he doubted that even with knowledge of Latin he could   
figure out the way the contracurse was supposed to work.   
  
He took out his wand in return. He wasn't sure about the spell but was   
determined to wipe the nasty smile off Malfoy's face. He didn't have much time   
to prepare. A black band shot out of Draco's wand, very reminiscent of the snake   
he sent on Harry during their duel in second year.   
  
"Haloperidol!" Harry shouted taking a step aside. Nothing happened with his   
wand, but not much got out of Malfoy's curse at any rate. The black thing hit   
Harry in his left arm and disappeared.   
  
He looked around with relief and was greeted by a line of grinning faces behind   
a line of disappointed grimaces. He didn't care to check the look on Snape's   
face. Trying to appear as nonchalant as he could given the circumstances Harry   
stuck his wand back in his robes and went to his place. The spot on his left arm   
where the curse hit him was starting to hurt, and it was getting worse with each   
step he took. He was determined not to let it show but by the time he reached   
his chair he couldn't avoid gripping his arm and rolling the sleeve to take a   
better look. What he saw made him stumble.  
  
Lines were appearing on his flesh, lines that looked and hurt exactly like   
burns. They even smelled like burning flesh to him. Someone invisible was   
drawing with an incandescent piece of iron on his arm. And even before the image   
was finished Harry knew was it was going to look like.   
  
He screamed, half out of pain and half out of uncontrollable terror and   
revulsion the thought evoked. The Dark Mark was appearing on his arm, the image   
of a snake coming out of a skull glowing in red, exactly like the mark on   
Snape's arm had done. Harry screamed again and stumbled on the floor, unaware of   
the students around him, some staring at him with puzzled expressions, some   
kneeling around and looking really worried. The only thing he was aware of   
before his mind lost its hold of the reality was the incredible pain in his arm,   
the smell of burning flesh and the voice that sometimes came to taunt him in his   
dreams.  
  
"Welcome to my circle, Harry Potter."   
  
  
  
  
A/N:   
-The idea of Hermione's curse is not originally mine. I got that from a children story about a boy who freed a thousand years old genie and got stuck with him in the modern world. I don't remember the title and sincerely doubt any of you have read it, but credits are credits. If anyone knows which story I'm talking about let me know!   
-The word Haloperidol is a real medicament against hallucinations (just thought   
maybe someone would like to know).  
-I'm convinced that Snape WILL be the DADA teacher in 5th book. The guy had   
waited for 4 years, isn't it enough?  
-I tried to find a beta-reader for this but something went wrong, so as you may   
have noticed you still have to put up with my Spanish-English. I'll give it one   
last try, though. Does somebody out there want to help me? Please? Would be   
great.  
-I really, really, really need to know what you think about this, because   
writing about life in Hogwarts seems to be the most difficult part of the story.   
It's strictly necessary to develop the plot, so if you have a problem have   
patience. If I don't get enough reviews I'll start writing cliff-hangers all the   
time (and no, I won't stop writing as some of you may have hoped).  



	6. Padfoot strikes back

Disclaimer: I stole them, I confess, I'm guilty. You can sue me but I warn you: you won't get any money from a poor jobless student!

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

Chapter VI: Padfoot strikes back

The sounds and sensations that assaulted Harry were too familiar to be comforting. The memories of all the previous injuries that had brought him to this room in the past bombarded his mind when he opened his eyes to be confronted with the antiseptic sights and smells of the infirmary. His encounter with Voldemort, the Dementors, the fall from his broomstick, another fall... He could go on forever. Then the most recent memory kicked in. 

Harry jumped and automatically tried to hold his left arm with his right. He struggled with all his forces but found that he couldn't move at all. Panic started to rise inside him, and the realisation that he was under some class of paralysing charm didn't help matters. If he weren't so distraught he would have noticed that the pain in his arm was gone. 

"He's awake!" A voice called. The sound of footsteps followed, and the infirmary door opened. Madam Pomfrey's hands touched Harry's forehead. 

"Shhhh, it's okay, you needn't worry. Everything will be fine," it sounded like she was speaking to a very small and extremely ill tempered baby. That realisation, more than the words themselves, calmed Harry down instantly. He would go no-where struggling. 

"Let him free, Poppy." Another voice came from far away and Harry tried to turn his head in that direction. "As soon as he realises that nothing was real he will calm down." 

Professor Dumbledore stood at the entrance, accompanied by several other people. Snape was there, Harry was sure of that, and maybe Professor McGonagall too. They were talking amongst themselves but the only words he understood were "stupid, reckless boy," and "thinks he is better than anyone," spoken quite clearly by Snape's low voice. Harry expected them to enter and talk to him, but much to his amazement everyone turned away and Dumbledore closed the door behind Madam Pomfrey, leaving Harry alone with the nurse. 

"What happened?" Harry asked hesitantly. He was so relieved by Dumbledore's words he could not care less about the lack of attention he was receiving. 

"What did you expect? You got in the way of a dark Illusionary Charm. All that happened afterwards was only the product of your imagination." 

"My arm was..." He stopped, not sure if mentioning the Dark Mark was a very good idea. Madam Pomfrey continued to prepare the various potions she intended to feed him. She didn't seem very interested in the details of his nightmare. 

Half-hour later, Harry was thinking that his infirmary stay was turning out to be quite unusual. Normally there were dozens of people around him, every one worried about the great Harry Potter. Now he was alone, bored and brooding over the "incident". He didn't know if he should feel lonely or happy not to have so many people fussing about him. He examined his arm for the hundredth time. Just as before nothing was there, not even a tiny scar on the skin. And just as before, knowing it didn't make him feel any better. He still felt dirty. 

After an interminable hour of waiting, Ron and Hermione came running into the room. 

"He didn't let us skip the class, said there was nothing wrong with you," Hermione complained. 

"What was it, Harry?" Ron carefully examined Harry's face as if he were afraid his words would trigger another attack. 

"What did it look like?" Harry asked. He really preferred not to know. "You just fell on the floor, gripped your arm and started screaming like it was on fire, but there wasn't anything there," Ron carefully explained. 

"I thought I had the Dark Mark. I saw it, it was exactly like Snape's, and it hurt like a bugger. And I heard Voldemort welcoming me, as though I were his servant or something," Harry admitted half-heartedly. It cost him more than he had imagined, as if saying it aloud would make it more real. Both Hermione and Ron stared at him in horror. 

"No wonder you lost it," Ron breathed. 

"I should have known better. _Ilusio Sensoria_ – I knew what to expect. I should have known it wasn't real," Harry's brow furrowed in frustration. 

"Harry, you can't fight an Illusory charm with common sense." Hermione's words, as rational as ever, couldn't cheer Harry up this time. Just the thought of the show he must have made was quite depressing, but when he remembered that the Slytherins had witnessed it all he felt half-hopeless and half-furious with himself at his own stupidity. 

His friends hadn't realised Harry's state of mind yet. They were still boiling with rage at Snape's behaviour. 

"We ran here right after they brought you, but he sent us back to the dungeon. We heard him speaking with Dumbledore, and he made it sound as though it were all your fault for being so sure of yourself. This filthy git said you _volunteered_ to show the countercurse!" Ron was angry beyond caring if someone heard the conversation. 

"I can't believe that he did it on purpose. He may hate Harry, but he would never try to hurt him!" Typical Hermione. 

"He didn't _plan_ to hurt me. Only to make me look like a fool in front of the class, which I did. And then he tried the same trick with Dumbledore." That would explain the fact that Dumbledore didn't come to talk to him and Madam Pomfrey looked angry. Did they really believe he was so stupid as to try something like that? 

"Malfoy got away with his curse," Ron went on. "Dumbledore said he shouldn't have known that stuff, but it's supposedly in our Defence book. Snape said Malfoy had just prepared for the lesson well. It's not fair! They should throw him out of the school just for using it!" 

"No," Hermione protested. Before they could ask her when she had joined Malfoy's side she started to speak again. "The curse I used on him, the verbal control, it was also a dark one." She swallowed nervously. "I didn't mean to; I just read about it, and thought it probably wasn't difficult at all, and then Malfoy turned up and it was simply too perfect. I didn't think. I know I always say we should just ignore him, but that doesn't mean he doesn't get to me. Sometimes I hate him. I should have told you, I was just…" 

"It doesn't matter." Ron made a dismissive gesture. "It wasn't really anything evil; you heard Snape, not compared to the stuff the Death Eaters do. Just look at what happened to Harry. Do you think Malfoy is grieving over what he did?" 

"I don't care if it looks innocent. Messing with people's mind is very, very wrong!" Hermione said. 

Ron's words may have soothed Hermione a little, but on Harry they had the opposite effect. He was recalling step by step as much of the scene as he could remember, and trying to imagine how it must have looked from outside, him rolling on the floor and screaming like crazy without any reason for it. For the first time he wouldn't have minded if Madam Pomfrey insisted he stay a couple of weeks, but (and it was also the first time such a thing happened) she said nothing of the sort. When she appeared to drive Ron and Hermione away she explained somewhat briskly that there was nothing wrong with him and that going back in the animation of the school would do him more good that staying there. 

At least he got to stay over night. He couldn't sleep and spent the long hours getting more and more angry at himself and imagining what exquisite jokes he would have to endure. Towards the end, he drifted to sleep with the firm decision to skip breakfast and therefore avoid meeting the Slytherins for another couple of hours. 

He couldn't fulfil his decision, however, because the first thing he saw after opening his eyes was Ron and Hermione, completely dressed and ready for lessons. They even brought his schoolbooks with them. 

"Rise and shine!" Ron exclaimed, and stressed his words by jumping on Harry's bed and almost throwing him on the floor. 

"Hurry up, we will be late for breakfast!" Greeted Hermione excitedly. 

Considering that Ron never woke up earlier than was strictly necessary and that Hermione sounded incredibly excited for the 7 o'clock Harry's watch showed, it was obvious that his friends had guessed what was on his mind. Very slowly he started to dress himself. 

It was Hermione who finally brought up the subject on their way to the Great Hall. "You aren't afraid of meeting Malfoy, are you, Harry?" It was a very direct way to put it. Harry winced at the word "afraid". 

"Of course I'm not!" He protested automatically. "But I'm not looking forward to it, either." He admitted. 

"There was nothing you could do about it, you couldn't know it wasn't real." It was the eighth time she said that. Harry had been counting. "Nobody can fight a hallucination with reasoning, do you want to see the page of the book it's written on?" 

"Show it to Malfoy!" Harry snapped bitterly and, seeing that Hermione looked hurt, continued. "The Slytherins weren't the only ones who laughed, right?" When nobody answered he went on. "Admit it, it did look funny, all that screaming and theatre. Harry Potter going mental!" 

"And what exactly were you planning to do? Hide in the Moaning Myrtle's toilet and whimper in duet?" Hermione had lost the remains of her patience and was showing it. Harry wasn't about to retreat. He seemed to be cursed never to be able to have a normal school year. These kinds of things never happened to his friends; how could they understand what he was feeling? 

"Maybe I'll drop out of Hogwarts," he snapped. "Guess the Dursleys won't be disappointed!" 

Hermione's words had cut deep. They reached the Great Hall and Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table with firm determination to ignore any jokes in his direction. A part of him wanted nothing more than to sit in the darkest place with his back to the Slytherins, but he would sooner die than show weakness. Before he could think better he dropped into a chair facing Draco Malfoy's from across the Great Hall. He thought he knew what would happen next. 

It was the moment Malfoy had been waiting for. He let go of his fork, gripped his arm and let out a scream that immediately captured everyone's attention. He dropped and rolled on the floor, letting out high-pitched, mocking screams. The whole of the Slytherin table howled with laughter. Harry's face became a stone mask and he served himself a glass of juice without quite knowing what he was doing. 

To make things worse, Cho Chang and a couple of Ravenclaw girls nearly stumbled on Draco on the way to their table. Harry's heart stopped when Cho paused in front of him. 

"Are you quite all right?" To Harry's ears, it sounded more sarcastic than worried. The look on her face clearly said he wasn't in his right mind. 

Harry could have cheered if Malfoy hadn't answered for the whole hall to hear: "Haven't you heard the news? Potter has finally lost it. He spent the night in the dungeons, tied up." 

The spectacle was making such a disturbance that Professor McGonagall had to come from the teacher's table and put it to an end. "Mr. Malfoy, seeing your talent for representation and total lack of progress in magic I wonder if you don't belong somewhere besides Hogwarts. Keep this up and I will find out. Five points from Slytherin for disrupting breakfast." 

"She should have made it ten. Than at least we would be even!" Ron protested. 

"Snape took ten points from me?" Harry couldn't believe his ears. 

"He also said you were to have a detention, but he couldn't be serious about that," Ron said distractedly as he turned back to his porridge. 

Harry glared at the teacher's table with hate he didn't know he had. Snape was sitting there, pleasantly chatting with Professor Sprout. If he had seen Malfoy's performance he didn't let it show. 

Professor McGonagall shut Malfoy's overlarge gob, but she couldn't control all the Slytherins. It took all of Harry's self control and the physical help of Ron and Hermione to sit quiet through breakfast. Students came to their table throughout, asking in concerned voices how Harry felt and if he was really being transferred to St. Mungo's. 

"They'll forget it in a while," Ginny tried to comfort him. 

"They'll be remembering it until pigs fly," Harry grumbled. It would take something truly monumental to make Draco Malfoy forget about his great victory. Seeing that extraordinary magical events occurred approximately once in a century, according to Professor Binns, Harry's future seemed quite dim. 

Harry was so busy coming up with biting answers that he hardly touched the food on his plate. Ron and Hermione were talking about Quidditch and trying to insist that Harry joined them. Then the owls came flying in the Great Hall, and Hermione was distracted by a big snowy one that brought her a copy of Daily Prophet. Harry wasn't expecting any letters; he had just received one from Sirius the day before. 

The excited talking became louder, only to transform into a deathly silence shortly afterwards. Harry looked up from his plate. All heads were turned in the direction of the teacher's table. 

And then he saw it. An owl, completely similar to any other except that it was carrying the large red envelope that every student knew so well and dreaded so much. The owl made a circle over the teacher's table and let the Howler fall directly in front of Snape's plate. 

A couple hundred mouths opened. Snape sat immobile, examining the Howler with the expression of somebody who had just found a hair in his pudding or a fly in his soup. 

Dumbledore said something that could have been a question but was too low to be sure. Snape just shook his head. The other teachers were looking at him expectantly. 

"Do you think he'll run away?" Ron asked silently, with his lips only. Somehow Harry doubted that. He remembered that Howlers were supposed to explode if not opened right away. Maybe Snape was waiting for that. It would be really embarrassing, but always better than running away or having to listen to whatever was prepared for him. 

Snape did nothing of the sort. With a movement that dripped loathing he dropped his fork to the table, and in the deathly silence the sound carried loudly through the hall. He took out his wand and pointed it at the Howler. Nobody ever knew what spell he tried to use. As if the message were waiting for him to make the first move, the envelope opened with a deafening bang and a chillingly familiar voice sent shivers down Harry's spine: 

**"Professor? You're a Professor? I can't believe that a stupid git like you ever made it to be a professor at Hogwarts! I can't even believe you made it to Slytherin so far. A Slytherin is supposed to be cunning. Do you hear me, cunning! Wait in the dark and attack from behind! And what do you do? You go after Harry Potter at sunlight!"**

Green wasn't a colour that looked pleasant on Snape. Harry had the impression he wasn't listening at all. His face was a contorted grimace of anger and he kept his wand pointed at the Howler, muttering curses very quickly. None had worked thus far. 

** "You spent _four whole years_ trying to finish the boy, and every time you end up making fool of yourself. You are a disgrace to the Slytherin name!" Snape's magic was finally making effect. The voice was growing lower. Luckily, Sirius chose to keep his message short and to the point. "And wash your hair, you slimy imbecile!" **

With that farewell the voice echoed though the hall and died away. 

The silence that followed was as complete as before, except for the snorts whose authors were closing their mouths with hands and trying hard to suppress the laughter. It was simply too much to bear. Suddenly someone let out a giggle, and instantly the whole hall exploded with laughter that no amount of detentions or taken points could stop. 

Most of the Gryffindors ended up under the table, rolling on the floor not unlike Malfoy had been. Most were simply unable to sit up straight and were clutching their bellies, trembling with waves of laughter. Stopping was impossible. They just tried their best to hide it. 

Harry was the only one who didn't share everyone's delight from the start. When the Howler exploded he had coughed the pudding he was eating all over the table, terribly afraid of the sudden public "appearance" of his godfather. He was sure that any that heard his voice would instantly recognise to whom it belonged. He needn't have worried, for no-one did. 

As soon as they trusted themselves to walk, all the Gryffindors hurried to exit. Looking at Snape was very entertaining indeed, but certainly not worth their lives. The memory would live on forever. 

"I'll bet he was sorry he didn't run away!" Ron sang happily as soon as they left the Great Hall. To add more luck to the day it turned out they didn't have a class with Snape until Thursday. 

"He thought he could overpower it!" George chuckled merrily. 

"Outstanding! The best prank ever!" Fred voted. 

"'Tis a pity 't'wasn't us!" George jumped in. 

"No student could have sent a Howler that resisted Snape's curses for so long," Hermione noted. She got a warning look from Harry on her right and a punch in the shoulder from Ron on her left. 

Nobody could concentrate properly during Charms. Professor Flitwick had been quite sympathetic and didn't mind the excited whispers that reigned in the classroom. 

"It wasn't anyone from Hogwarts. It couldn't be any of the teachers, and no student would have a chance against Snape." Dean Thomas was putting together all the facts. "The only thing we know for sure is that, whoever it was, he sent the Howler because of Harry." Harry used all his acting talents to pretend he was surprised. 

"I have no idea who," he said, seemingly pondering the idea. 

"You have a great admirer out there," Ron came to rescue. "and with a terrific sense of humour. I never thought a Howler could be cool!" Everybody was of the same opinion as Ron. 

Not everybody in the school believed Harry when he said he didn't know the sender of the Howler. It couldn't have mattered less, anyway. Everybody found it was the most perfect way to start a day, and the fact the Harry was being mysterious about it only added some wood to the fire of excitement. 

Lavender Brown told everyone who would listen about the protector Harry had dealt in Divination. Fred and George spent the whole of lunchtime in the library doing extended research on Howlers and possible enhancements for them. Everybody was happy, and nobody remembered the incident in Defence. 

Draco Malfoy tried to bring up the subject once again, but Seamus Finnigan jumped from behind and shouted at the top of his lungs: "And you call yourself a Slytherin? They are supposed be evil, to have imagination in messing with people! You're just plain dull!" 

"And wash your hair!" Ron added in an afterthought, in spite of the fact that Malfoy's hair didn't need any washing. The phrase became somewhat of a new Gryffindor hymn. Professor McGonagall had overheard the incident but made no comment. 

The day went by quickly, but not quickly enough. Harry could not wait until the end of the classes, when all the students left the classroom and he could be alone with Ron and Hermione. 

"How did Sirius know about me?" The question had been bothering him throughout the whole day. Hermione only shrugged her shoulders, but Ron suddenly became very fascinated with his timetable. 

"You wrote to him? Why the hell for? It's not your business!" It didn't come out exactly as he wanted. "I mean, it's not Sirius' business." Sirius had enough problems himself to come to the rescue every time Harry had some difficulties. Surely he could deal with Malfoy and Snape alone. 

"You didn't write back, so his owl came to the dorm in the night. It wouldn't leave without an answer; woke everybody up. What was I supposed to do? I just wrote that you had an encounter with Malfoy courtesy of Snape and that you were going to be okay in the morning." 

"I didn't want him to know," Harry answered in a low voice, through clenched teeth. 

"But Harry, it's so cool! I wish my parents would do that for me. If I wrote home saying I had problems with a teacher they would probably send a Howler to _me_!" Admiration was written all over Ron's face and Harry found it increasingly difficult to stay angry with someone who thought his godfather was the best in the world. 

"Ron is right. You are very lucky to have someone with whom you can talk. I wish I could do the same with my parents." Something about the way Hermione sounded made Harry turn from Ron to her. 

"You don't tell them everything?" He asked. 

"How could I? I mean, last year, of course I told them everything about the Tournament and you and the participants," she went slightly pink. "but then there's all the dangers of the magic, and You-Know-Who." 

"You parents don't know about Voldemort?" Hearing that was incredible. Harry had completely forgotten that five years ago he himself didn't know who he was. 

"It's what Malfoy said: they go after the Muggles first. My parents think it's wonderful, they were so happy when I was chosen. I just can't bear to tell them about it. They'd die of worry, knowing they can't even help. And what if they wanted me to leave?" She asked. 

When they reached the common room any secret conversations had to be interrupted. The room was utterly crowded with people. The Gryffindors had decided that the public humiliation of Snape was as good a reason as any to celebrate. An intense debate was going on, the expression of Snape's face and the identity of the sender being the two centre topics. 

"Maybe it was an ex-Slytherin student," Colin Creevey offered. 

"What a disgrace, to be howled at by the member of your own house!" George called from behind a mountain of books without any hint of compassion, but rather a large bit of amusement. 

"He shouldn't have done that. Snape will only get more vengeful now," Harry whispered to Ron when they found a relatively quiet place. 

"Harry, he can't hate you any more than he does already," Ron said, and Harry found that knowing that was oddly comforting. "Anyway, he knows it wasn't you." 

"D'you think he knows it was Sirius?" Harry asked. 

"McGonagall certainly does. She never stopped looking at you with this expression." Ron answered quizzically. "You aren't worried, are you?" 

"I most certainly am not!" Harry answered furiously. First Hermione, and now Ron! Did he have the word "coward" written all over his face? 

"Well, it's very brave of you. I personally would be." Ron grinned. 

"I just wish I had done something, got him myself instead of waiting for Sirius to rescue me. Sometime I will get him back, I swear!" Harry said. 

"Just make sure you are very far from Hogwarts when he finds out, okay?" 

Hermione was quiet as usual, sitting in a chair by the fire and reading. When all the students begun to disappear in their dormitories Harry made his way to her table. 

"It's only the second day of school. What can you possibly have to study now?" Hermione turned to him and Harry saw that she wasn't reading a book, but rather, it was her copy of the Daily Prophet. She passed him the newspaper. The title on the first page read: 

"A Heated Discussion Today in Parliament"

In smaller letters under the title was written:

"What promised to be a routine voting on the new wizard census turned into an exchange of accusations after one of the members proposed to introduce a new paragraph regarding the lineage of the person in question." 

"And?" Harry asked impatiently. He couldn't see the need to read an article on politics short for midnight. 

"If this proposition is approved there will be a complete list of all English muggle-born wizards!" Hermione stated in a way that made Harry feel as though he were missing something vital. 

"And?" Ron came closer and joined in. 

"Can't you see it? They want to identify all the wizards with "impure" blood, so they can target them with ease." 

"Don't you think you are exaggerating a bit?" Harry questioned. 

"Why else would somebody bother to investigate the lineage of every wizard in this country? This kind of racial census has been done before, and the consequences were terrible," Hermione said, shaking her head. 

Now Harry remembered it. The Society for the Promotion of Wizarding Traditions. He scanned down the article and found out right from the second line that the idea belonged to none other than Mr. Lucius Malfoy, thirty-seventh baronet of this, member of that, and the famous creator of the infamous society that infuriated Sirius and Remus so much. 

"As long as they don't kill anybody…" He started but was quickly interrupted by Hermione. 

"Killing somebody isn't the worst thing you can do to a person. They are one inch from saying that muggle-borns can never be as good as pure bloods. I personally find this simply humiliating. As long as I am a good witch, why should it be anybody's business who my parents are?" She and Ron clearly took the news quite seriously. 

"My dad was furious when Malfoy funded this society. Percy says he nearly got fired for saying that the Ministry is prejudiced against the Muggles." 

"I can't believe nobody is moving a finger to stop this. Fudge, I'm not surprised, but I had hoped that at least Dumbledore would do something," Hermione sighed and closed the paper. 

"He _is_ doing something." The words left Harry's lips before he could stop himself. And once started, he had to go on. He turned around to check if they were the only ones in the room and started to relate the events of his birthday once more, except that this time he left nothing out. During some time his quick whisper was the only sound in the common room. He told his friends everything, from the history of the Order to the phoenix feather in his wand. 

"Dumbledore would never put you in danger, and you know it," offered Hermione after a long silence. 

"I don't think it's dangerous. It's the point of the enchantment, to stand up to Voldemort all together." Harry protested. 

"Maybe not, but I still can't imagine Dumbledore would ever consider placing you against You-Know-Who. It has to be something else, or Sirius could be plain wrong." 

"It does make some sense," Ron said, wrinkling his forehead. "I have heard about the unicorn wands the Healers use myself." 

"Ask Sirius. It's the simplest thing," Hermione suggested. 

"I know what he'll say," Harry said. 

"He'll be right. You _do_ have to be careful," Hermione stated. 

"I have to be careful and everyone else can do whatever they want. Did you think the Howler to Snape was very careful?" Harry asked incredulously. 

"Really! This morning you complained that you always got in trouble and now you seem not to have enough! You should keep quiet and study a lot to pass your OWLs! How can you possibly believe that Dumbledore expects you to run around sticking your nose in things that don't concern you at all?" But the idea of doing something looked more and more attractive to Harry. 

"Can't hurt, can it? To find out more about the Order, I mean." 

"No, no and no. You are not doing anything of the kind. Promise me that you are not going to the forbidden section to look for that book, Harry, please," Hermione and Ron pleaded together. 

Only after Harry had promised not to make any night trips to the library did Hermione allow him to leave the common room. As Harry and Ron went up the stairs to the boy's dorm it occurred to him that he didn't need to go there at all. If he was right the book was not in the library. It was in the secret room near Dumbledore's office. And the only way to get there without knowing the password was the Portkey hanging around Sirius' neck. 

A/N:   
- as always, huge thanks to all the people who lost 1 minute of their time and reviewed and specially to all who offered their help with beta-reading! It's a pity I had to choose only one.  
- to Rachel Granger-Gryffindor: I loved you review so much I used a little of it in this chapter! Hope you don't mind me using your expression.  
- the whole "Howler to Snape" idea is nothing new in WMPP fics, I don't know who started it originally. I just wanted a Howler to be sent to _Professor Snape_, so I did it!  
- a special mention to my new wonderful beta [Lin-z][1] who helped to make the funny parts of this funnier and the serious better written. You noticed the difference, I'm sure! And check her story [Harry Potter and Gryffindor's Secret][2], too!

READ? NOW REVIEW! Please?

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=directory-authorProfile&userid=46751
   [2]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&storyid=247635



	7. Halloween

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix Chapter VII: Halloween

Ron's affirmation that Snape wasn't serious about giving Harry a detention proved to be incorrect. A week after the incident he suddenly addressed Harry at the end of a class, pleasantly informing him that he was expected in the Potions dungeon on Saturday evening. It was so unfair that Harry was ready to bluntly refuse the order, but thought better of it at the last moment. 

If Snape thought he could settle the score that way, he was sorely mistaken. No amount of detentions could erase the grin that appeared on Harry's face every time he came face to face with his new Defense teacher. He was still wondering what made him remember the incident after a whole week when everything suddenly became obvious. 

When Harry returned to the common room after his classes, he was greeted by a piece of parchment tacked to the announcement board, explaining that the probes for the House Quidditch teams were taking place on Saturday next. A small crowd gathered quickly around the note. It escaped nobody that for the first time in five years there was a vacation on Gryffindor team. What caught Harry, however, was that the probes and his detention started at the same time. 

Any other time he wouldn't have worried too much about skipping the selection, but this year was different. It was on the tips of many tongues: Gryffindor needed a new team captain. He snapped the paper from the board and stormed out of the room, slamming the portrait behind. He was unaware of the many pairs of curious eyes that followed him. He didn't know what he would do when he found Snape, only that this time he had had enough of his games. 

"Snape." Ron didn't loose time for long explanations. Even the youngest of first years knew of the mutual antipathy between Snape and Harry. After that he too ran from the room, determined to prevent his friend from doing anything stupid. 

Harry was already in front of the teachers' lounge when he heard Ron's running steps behind. He knocked at the door and entered without waiting for an answer. In the corridor behind him Ron moaned and slowed down, anxiously listening for sounds from the other side. Everything was quiet. He turned the knob and pushed the massive door a little. If Harry was really in trouble him being there couldn't make things any worse. 

The spacious room was cool and dim. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick sat comfortably in two bulky chairs in front of the cracking fire with two glasses of red wine and piles of parchment in front of them. Harry was standing before Professor McGonagall, looking embarrassed at his earlier outburst. Much to Ron's relief, Snape was nowhere to be seen. 

"Naturally, I understand how you feel about the whole situation, Potter," Professor McGonagall was saying while taking off her glasses and massaging the bridge of her nose, "but I am in no position to revoke any punishment given by other professors in this school." Her voice was as firm as ever, but she sounded somewhat more sympathetic than was usual. "The only thing I can do is to mention Professor Snape's questionable behavior at our monthly meeting." 

"No, thanks." Harry answered firmly. He was still clutching the Quidditch announcement in his hand. "It won't be necessary." He turned around, motioning for Ron to follow as he passed him on the way out. They walked in silence until they reached the end of the corridor, but as soon as they turned around the corner Harry exploded in a detailed and imaginative description of Snape's genealogy. 

"What are you planning to do?" Ron asked pragmatically when Harry had calmed down. 

"Nothing," Harry answered with a sigh, "you heard McGonagall. Snape's in his right to give detentions as it pleases him. Perhaps the others will wait for me after the probes," he added, thinking that even if they did the thrill of the probes was as good as gone. 

"Don't go," was the majority's opinion on Saturday morning. The whole Gryffindor table sent furious looks in the direction of the teacher's table. They took the intent to disable their Seeker very close to heart. Angelina, Katie and Alicia swore to him in unison that nobody would never make any changes in the team without him, and Fred and George gave him ideas on how to make the floor look freshly washed by pouring water on it. 

"Do you have any idea what can happen if you don't appear at detention?" One of the third years asked. 

"You probably get another two in addition to the one you missed," answered Neville. He also added that he would sooner jump from the Astronomy tower than skip a detention with Snape, and Harry had to agree with that. 

Plans of revenge were all that helped Harry to keep a smile on his face as he presented himself at Snape's dungeon five minutes before five and heard that his task consisted of searching for bezoars. Harry had seen bezoars before, and it didn't sound that terrible until he remembered that they were usually found inside the stomachs of goats. During two hours he had to work with his hands deep in revolting guts looking for knots of half-digested hair. 

At first he hoped that he could finish his task quick enough to join his team at the Quidditch field, but after he surveyed his neat pile of bezoars and went to wash his hands, Snape's oily voice behind him announced that he had forgotten to cut them in halves and look inside, for once in a while certain valuable objects could be found there. By the time Harry managed to escape the dungeons he was hopelessly late. 

Not even trying to look for his team, he headed directly for the Gryffindor tower. Ron and Hermione were sitting at the end of the stairs and waiting for him, looking very pleased with themselves for some reason. As soon as they saw Harry, Ron jumped to his feet and disappeared behind the portrait hole while Hermione hurried down the stairs. 

"I don't want to see another bezoar in my life" was Harry's short synopsis of the time he spent in Snape's company. He meant it very seriously and hoped Hermione wasn't about to start a passionate lecture on their multiple properties and uses. She did nothing of the kind. In fact, she hardly listened to him, grabbing him by the arm and nearly dragging him to the entrance to the Gryffindor tower. When they reached the portrait hole she finally let him go, said the password (Lion heart), and stepped aside, inviting him to go ahead. Harry gave her a quizzical look and he stepped inside. From the excited looks of his friends he knew they had something prepared for him, but he wasn't ready for what followed. 

His foot had activated a couple of strategically placed Dr. Filibuster's Fireworks that in their turn activated some more, and soon the common room was filled with loud exploding bangs, multicolor lights and loads of smoke. 

Before he could open his mouth, the Weasley twins let out a war whoop, and all hell broke loose. The twins jumped on him, using the tickling charm with the precision of a professional and the mercy of the italian mafia. Katie Bell's spell caused Harry to levitate a good two meters above the floor, and somebody else made him spin in the air. His loud protests were drowned by the general laughter, and the calls for help he let out between waves of laughter didn't convince anybody. 

After a while everyone got tired of swirling him around and allowed him to land on the floor. Somebody opened the window and the smoke dissipated, allowing Harry to see that he was surrounded by his fellow members of the Quidditch team. George sent a last twitching leg curse in his direction. He ducked the curse and stood up. His robes were a hopeless mess and his glasses had slid from his nose. 

"What was all that for?" He asked, struggling in vain to arrange his robes. 

"It's the Initiation Ceremony for Newly Elected Quidditch Captains. It's an antique Gryffindor tradition that goes back to the Middle Ages," Fred explained. 

"I'm the captain?" Harry was breathless. 

"Actually, we invented it for Oliver," George admitted, pretending to look uncomfortable at his brother's lie and not succeeding at all. 

"But maybe it will go on for centuries from now on!" Fred beamed. 

"I don't understand how they ever manage to talk us into it. Every time we swear we won't participate in such childish games, and every time we end up falling for it." Alicia said between quick breaths. The three girls looked as disheveled and red as Harry. 

"I'm the captain?" Harry repeated, still not believing his ears. 

"Yep." George confirmed. "You were elected captain by the unanimous votes of all but one members of the team." 

"But I wasn't…" Harry stammered. 

"Don't worry, you wouldn't have liked it anyway. You see, it's a difficult decision to choose a captain. He has to be the example for the Gryffindor house. We went through your whole biography, your grades, your known and rumored girlfriends…" Fred rambled, ticking off fingers as he went. 

"Why don't you order them to shut up?" Ron made a long-suffering face and winked at him from behind the crowd of students. The twins came to attention and gave him a mocking salute. Harry grinned evilly. 

"Damon McDougal. It will be a pleasure to play with you." An outstretched hand appeared under Harry's nose. Harry already knew the boy. He was a third-year, and had spent each one of his three years trying to stir a passion for muggle football among his fellow students. 

Harry shook the extended hand and smiled back. His birthday wish had come true. He was the captain. He would lead the trainings, say the encouraging words and shake hands with the contrary captains at the beginning of each match. He was responsible for the whole team. And he was determined to make sure that this year the Quidditch cup carried their names once again. 

The first game of the year was Slytherin versus Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw won with 210 to 90, and Harry was one of the first students to jump from his seat and applaud enthusiastically when Cho Chang got the Snitch right from under Malfoy's nose. 

"I wonder how much Malfoy's father is really paying them, because seven Nimbus 2001s is too small a price for having such a worthless prat on the team," Ron mused on their way from the field. Snape overheard the conversation and took ten points from Gryffindor, but it couldn't cloud the joy at the humiliation of their enemy. 

Shortly before Halloween Gryffindor had to play against Hufflepuff. It was the saddest game Harry could remember as he stood in the middle of the field under the drizzle, honoring Cedric's name with a minute of silence. The hole left in the Hufflepuff team by the death of their captain was a difficult one to fill, and the mood of the team was as grim as the rainy November day. 

Harry had no particular desire to compete against them and wished with all his strength they could call it a draw. He remembered all too well the last time he had suggested a tie at the Triwizard Tournament. If he hadn't insisted they touched the cup together Hufflepuff would still have its old captain. 

The pale boy with round glasses who had taken Cedric's place as Seeker guessed Harry's strategy right after the first time the Snitch appeared. When they both failed to grab the golden ball and it disappeared again he flew to Harry and grunted angrily: "You don't need to put up a show of magnanimity, Potter. Quit acting and play for real!" 

Harry couldn't think of a worthwhile reply. The next time the Snitch appeared he went for it with full determination, increased by the fact that the Hufflepuff Seeker wasn't bad at all. His old Cleansweep 7 wasn't fast, but it kept crossing the Firebolt's path in a quite annoying and altogether effective manner. Harry closed his fingers around the ball in the same moment the other boy's hand touched his arm. The Hufflepuff team was better than they credited themselves, and he wished fervently they could get over their loss as soon as possible. 

Between the games, the trainings and the classes the time passed incredibly quickly. Suddenly it was already Halloween, and the castle was being transformed into a picture from a tale. Harry, Ron and Hermione spent the morning at Hogsmeade, and after visiting Zonko's, the Owlery and Honeyduke's, the group ended up sitting in a warm and inviting corner at the Three Broomsticks with three mugs of Butterbeer on their table. Everything was perfect except for the fact that at the table nearest them a large group of Slytherins had gathered around Draco Malfoy, who was loudly boasting about his family's wealth. 

"Father and Mother are giving an exclusive party at the Malfoy Manor," Malfoy was saying, "only the best of our kind are invited. It's a pity I must rot in this poor imitation of a school while the oldest and richest families of England are celebrating in my house," he whined, looking contemptuously at the others in the Three Broomsticks. 

"It's a pity we must sit here listening to Malfoy while the rest of the people are enjoying Halloween," Hermione moaned, mimicking Draco's lazy drawl quite well. 

"It's a pity the Malfoy Manor can't burn down together with all the Malfoy family and the rest of the best families of England." Ron continued between gritted teeth. He was in killing mood after having had Draco for partner in the last Potions class. Malfoy put two beetles too many in his own cauldron, causing the whole potion bubble over the edge and bore holes in his table. He solved the situation by claiming it was all Ron's doing. Snape jumped at the opportunity and Ron spent a whole afternoon putting together the bezoars Harry had cut open. 

"Come on, Harry, it's your turn!" Hermione called after Harry continued to glare at Malfoy, failing to acknowledge the conversation around him. 

"It's a pity we have to hide in the safety of Hogwarts while Voldemort is out there, getting stronger," he said finally. It wasn't what Hermione had expected, but Harry couldn't change his state of mind. He hadn't mentioned the Order of Phoenix once since he told Ron and Hermione all about it but it didn't mean he had forgotten the matter. 

The news the Daily Prophet brought every day weren't exactly reassuring, and the approach of Halloween didn't help things. He had never given it a lot of thought before, but with the return of Voldemort the date had acquired a new sinister tone. It was the night when the dark forces got stronger and the frontiers between the dead and the living were blurred. It was the night his parents died, the only time of his life with them he ever remembered. 

In spite Ron's and Hermione's efforts Harry's mood didn't get any better in the evening. Everyone around him was enjoying the Halloween party. Thousands of lights lit the Great Hall, tiny bats flew around the ceiling and the food was excellent as ever. 

Smiling faces surrounded him, but he was finding it increasingly difficult to imitate their joyful moods. He was thinking of Lucius Malfoy, the Wizard Traditions Society, and the conversation he overheard in Knockturn Alley three years ago. The Malfoys had Dark tools hidden in their house. The purest families of wizards were coming there. It wouldn't be the first time Death Eaters attacked on Halloween. He couldn't sit there eating and laughing whilst at that precise moment cloaked shadows could be getting together, perhaps silent, perhaps laughing, and half an hour later appear at the doorstep of somebody's house and kill or torture its inhabitants. 

After a while he excused himself, saying that he wasn't feeling well, and went upstairs to the empty dorm. He couldn't influence anything that was going on outside, but there was something inside the castle he could do. Harry opened his trunk and took out his Invisibility Cloak. 

He hurried to the entrance to Dumbledore's office and approached the gargoyle, making sure that the cloak covered him completely. Suddenly he was beginning to doubt his good sense. True, he has gotten into forbidden places many times before. True, Dumbledore and everyone else were in the Great Hall and his chances of being caught were minimal. Entering the sanctuary of the headmaster's quarters seemed to be a crime worst than anything else he had done before. He almost wished he wouldn't able to guess the password, so that he could forget the whole idea and go back to the party and maybe finally talk to Sirius instead of blindly playing a game whose rules he didn't understand. 

"Lemon sherbet." He whispered cautiously. Nothing happened. "Cockroach Clusters. Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans." It looked as though he was going to get his wish. He was starting to feel stupid staying there, recalling the names of all the sweets he ever tried in his life. He had already gone over all the Honeydukes stocks and that blasted gargoyle never budged an inch. He had had luck one time in the past, but it couldn't go on forever. He tried to think about something he hadn't named yet and found one last possibility. 

"Canary Creams," he whispered, and to his delight the gargoyle guarding the entrance sprang aside, revealing the hidden stairs. Without taking off the cloak he cautiously ventured up the stairs and pushed the barely visible outline of the secret door. His heart stopped as soon as he stepped in. There was somebody inside. He sensed it instantly, first just a presence and then a light that shouldn't be there, the unmistakable glow of a Lumos charm. 

There was the sound of something heavy falling to the floor and the light went out, leaving only the weak shining of the stone monolith to throw shadows on the walls. Harry froze in the middle of the doorframe, the hand on the doorknob and one foot still in the air. 

Two thoughts crossed his head; the first that all the teachers were in the Great Hall, and the second that he had no chance to get his wand from under the cloak without revealing himself. His skin could sense the stare coming from the darkness. One agonizing second passed, and then a calm voice spoke ironically. "I don't know many people here that run around under Invisibility Cloaks, so I'll make a guess." 

Could it be true or it was a play of his imagination? 

"Harry? Ron? Hermione? Or the three of you together?" The voice asked. This time Harry was sure he recognized whom it belonged to. 

His body relaxed and he breathed again. "You scared the life out of me!" He whispered back, his own voice shaking a little. 

"Not as much as you out of me," the voice returned dryly. The light went on again and Harry was able to see the tall figure of his godfather. He took a step toward Sirius who extended his arm blindly and took the cloak off Harry's head. 

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked louder, but still shakily. His encounters with Sirius were getting more and more exciting, almost too much for his taste. 

"I was in the need of a rash escape, and the quickest route led to Hogwarts," Sirius answered. He bent down and picked the heavy volume from where it had fallen, leaving it on the pedestal. Harry had been right. The Book of Phoenix was there, waiting to be used. "Since then I've been stuck here waiting for Dumbledore to come and everybody else to go to sleep." 

Harry sensed rather than saw Sirius' thoughtful look follow his and felt himself getting red. His godfather scrutinized him from head to foot, noted the Invisibility cloak he still held in his hands and put two and two together. 

"Anything special that brings you here tonight?" His casual tone didn't fool Harry for a second. He had thought that being caught by Dumbledore was the worst thing that could happen. Now it occurred to him that meeting his godfather could prove to be much more unfortunate. After all, his finding out about the Order was Dumbledore's, not Sirius' idea. 

"Ehh," he started vaguely. It had sounded more like a rhetorical question. A deep frown crossed Sirius' features and he looked at Harry with disappointment written all over his face. "Leave the Phoenix be, okay? It's not something that concerns you in the least." His tone held a note of authority Harry had never heard from his godfather before. It had made its effect. Harry was starting to regret being there, but a tiny voice at the back of his head kept telling him he was right. Stubbornly, he thought of the reason that brought him there in the first place. 

"No." He answered rashly and stared at the man in front of him, challenging him argue. Sirius' frown flattened itself to be replaced by a somber expression. He had been expecting that answer. 

"Harry…" Sirius started to say, but Harry didn't want to hear to any reasons. 

"I'm tired of acting like nothing has happened! Voldemort has returned; he's getting his power back with every second that passes." 

"He has his power back already, Harry." Sirius started to pace the room in long impatient steps. "You saw it with your own eyes. The fear is his strength, and in all the years of his sorry bodiless existence he never lost that power. His old servants came running at his beckon; the rest of the wizard world simply refuse to accept the possibility of his return." 

"But I saw him! I saw the Death Eaters get together and plan future attacks," Harry exploded, all but shouting. "I heard their names! I heard Voldemort call Lucius Malfoy his faithful servant and he's still free to do what he pleases! Do you think I can sit here and eat pumpkin puddings while somebody may be dying tonight like my parents did?" 

"One thing I can assure you, Harry. Lucius Malfoy isn't having any fun right now." Sirius' eyes twinkled in a way that suggested he knew something nobody else did, and Harry wondered what his godfather had been doing lately and what all that talk of a quick escape route was. 

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked skeptically. 

"First things first. I don't need you to tell me what brought you here. I remember very well what James was like at your age. But I want you to promise you'll forget whatever you had in mind, and you can be sure that it's exactly what your father would do in my place," Sirius said. 

"I can help," Harry repeated stubbornly. He knew he was fighting a lost battle and decided to use his last chance. "Why else did Dumbledore want me to be present at the Bonding?" He held the breath and waited for Sirius' reaction. An agreement would give him the reason; a denial at least would confirm his previous suspicions. Sirius stopped pacing and looked intently at Harry, weighing how much he was ready to know and how much he had found out already. 

"Maybe he did." He admitted reluctantly. "You have incredible powers for your age, you have proved it often enough. But you still have a lot to learn, if only to have your wand ready when sneaking into prohibited places alone at night." 

"I had my wand ready! Right here," Harry protested automatically while trying to remember in which one of his numerous pockets it was laying. Then he had to go through the embarrassing process of searching for it, all the while Sirius was staying there, looking at him with a smile on his face. He did have a point there. When Harry finally felt the piece of polished wood among all the stuff he had in his pockets it slipped right through his fingers and flew neatly into Sirius' hand. 

"Right here," his godfather repeated, "but out of your reach. Happens a lot, and generally in nasty circumstances." He stuck both his and Harry's wands in his own pocket. "For God's sake, Harry, you are only fifteen years old! You can't expect to take down a grown powerful wizard!" 

Harry was up to the challenge. "I don't need a wand for that." He answered very smugly. They had been doing wandless magic in Charms since the beginning of the semester, and he soon found out that he was quite good at it. If Sirius doubted his skill he was in for a big surprise. "Of course, it's always strongly desirable to get it back, that's why the wandless Summoning spell is so useful," he continued nearly quoting Professor Flitwick. With that he proceeded to deprive his godfather of both the wands with a fine movement of his wrist. His left hand closed around his prize, but far from using the advantage he chose to proceed with his lecture. 

"Then comes the basic emergency stuff, nothing special, but some of that spells come in handy, too. Ferula!" The first help charm wasn't very appropriate for a wizard duel, but Harry managed to make the ropes tie themselves around Sirius' wrists and ankles, causing him to loose equilibrium and protest loudly. 

"And this is not on our program at all, but I have also learnt a tickling charm. Want me to demonstrate?" To his delight Sirius pleaded mercy right away, but to his disappointment by the time he bent down to untie the bonds he had already made them disappear and was standing up. 

"Well done, Harry, but I bet you can still stand to learn a couple of tricks you'll never hear from Flitwick. Something you'll be needing much more than Accio, specially if you keep using that cloak so often." With these words he went to the door, touched the knob with his both hands and in one instant the old dark bronze shone with newly polished gleam. 

"A cleaning charm?" Harry guessed. 

"Of inestimable value for trophies, toilet sinks and any repulsive articles in need of a good cleaning Filch's perverse imagination is able to come up with," Sirius explained. 

Harry grinned knowingly and held out Sirius' wand. Something was sticking from one of the extremes, but he was quite sure he hadn't damaged it. He checked it more carefully. It looked really old and when he touched a couple of hairs of one creature or another they came out. "Where did you get this wand?" He asked, trying to push the hairs back into the wooden casing. 

"In a place where illegal deals outnumber the legal ones by ten to one." Sirius answered wryly, taking it from Harry. He seemed to have repaired it often enough to know where the trick was. 

"What happened to yours?" Harry got no immediate answer to his question and scowled himself for the lack of tact. He was sure Sirius wasn't particularly fond of that memory. 

"Alastor Moody broke it when he took me under arrest." Sirius contemplated his shattered possession while turning it between his fingers. "Guess he didn't want to take any chances. When you get a life sentence your wand is broken anyway. You aren't supposed to use it ever again." 

"Can't you get yourself a new one?" 

Sirius shook his head. "Not like the one I had. It was really special. Ebony and a hair from the tail of a centaur. They don't normally make wands out of that, mostly because centaurs aren't very keen on having hairs from their tails taken out. How I got it is a long story, the bottom line being that my parents were friends with one of their lot. He gave me my name when I was born, apart from making a lot of unclear predictions regarding my future. In one thing he was right, though. When I was to go to Hogwarts there was no way I could find a proper wand." 

"Where's he now?" Harry questioned. 

"Centaurs live longer than people, but Heron was already quite old when he gave it to me," Sirius explained. 

"Can't you at least get a _newer_ wand?" Harry mused incredulously. 

"It doesn't matter that much. I'm not going to get mine back, so this'll do. You know, you should really go now. Your friends are surely looking for you, and when Dumbledore comes you'll have to answer a lot of questions." It was too late for that. 

Sirius' words were no sooner spoken than they heard the sound of steps outside. The Halloween feast was over. The door opened to reveal none other than Snape at the head of small procession. He seemed not surprised at all to find Sirius there. Quite on the contrary, one could think he came upstairs only because of him. 

"Did you think it was funny, Black?" Snape sneered at him in a manner of greeting. Harry's presence was clearly an unpleasant shock that he did his best to ignore. 

"Yeah, I may have thought something like that." Sirius admitted coolly, not caring to hide the grin on his face. It was obvious that the last events didn't help to improve the relationship between the two. 

"It was a very brave and very reckless thing to do. Surely I don't need to tell you that?" Dumbledore had entered the room behind Snape and stood at the entrance. There was a hint of admonishing in the way his eyes glinted from behind his glasses. It struck Harry suddenly that it wasn't the Howler they were talking about. 

"I was sick of doing nothing. Vigilance is great, but until today it didn't get us anywhere. The chance was too good to ruin it." Sirius sounded a bit defensive but he held the headmaster's stare with stubborn determination. 

"Do you realize what will happen if you get caught?" Dumbledore probed. 

"At least I will make one of those present very happy," Sirius smirked in Snape's direction. The Potion's master's lips tightened in a humourless imitation of a smile. They might be speaking about something else, but it was definitely the Howler both of them were thinking of. 

"I couldn't care less about your fate. If you are stupid enough to dig your own grave it's your business. I won't cry at your funeral." Professor McGonagall's shocked look indicated that his last sentence was way out of place. Sirius received a similar warning from Dumbledore. They both finally looked away from each other. 

"Will somebody explain me what happened?" Harry's frustration got the best of him. He didn't understand what all the talk was about, but then again, he wasn't supposed to understand. He wouldn't be surprised if Snape or even Dumbledore ordered him out of there. 

"The Order has been watching Malfoy since the very beginning, and after the scandal in parliament, the Ministry too has started to take his schemes seriously. Fudge may still deny it, but the Aurors were watching his every step. He's an arrogant fool like most of his kind, so sure of his power he didn't even bother to hide his intentions… He was right in a way, in absence of any proof the only thing they could do was to watch..." 

"And you decided to give them a little push by coming by and saying hallo." Dumbledore finished the sentence for him. "How could they resist the sight of Sirius Black going into the house, apparently ready for a meeting with the host? You should have seen the expression on Malfoy's face. He truly wondered for a moment if I was indeed on his side. Of course, that was before the twenty or so Aurors stormed in his Manor." 

"You did what?" Harry couldn't believe his ears. Not that he thought Sirius incapable of doing such a thing. What he found incredible was that he had the nerve to tell Harry off for not being cautious enough right after doing something much crazier himself. "You'll never be able to clear your name behaving that way!" 

"I will never be able to clear my name without finding Pettigrew, no matter what I do," Sirius retorted coldly. "There have to be some advantages about being a wanted criminal. No amount of money or influence will free my good friend Lucius and all his guests from the stain they got tonight." 

The way Sirius put it everything sounded easy and perfect, and that was exactly what bothered Harry about the whole situation. There seemed to be no justice in the magical world. Lucius Malfoy had enough power to get away with almost anything, but being seen in the company of an innocent man condemned without a trial was enough to destroy his name. Harry didn't believe for a second that Sirius' pleased tone was sincere. He could only imagine how he really felt, knowing that the same people he was trying to help wouldn't hesitate in executing him if he ever fell in their hands. 

"I will not deny that your action solved a situation that was beginning to get very problematic," Dumbledore said severely, and everybody could clearly hear the reluctance in that admission. His calm and powerful voice covered all the talking. "But I don't want you to do anything like that ever again. Every one of us puts his life in danger for a greater need, but this kind of personal risk is unacceptable. It's the difference between Voldemort and us. We don't sacrifice any pawns. Nobody is expendable." His clear eyes bore into Sirius' dark ones until the younger man nodded silently. 

"Let's go. We have a lot to discuss." The time for fun had passed. Now it was time to talk business. One by one everyone started to move to Dumbledore's office. Sirius' face was sober as he went past Harry. 

"Come," He called shortly. "You'll see what's being done here." 

It was well past midnight, but Harry wasn't noticing it at all. Once again he found himself sitting in a corner a little apart from everybody else and listening intently to the conversation he wasn't originally supposed to hear. He saw now how wrong he had been. Dumbledore appeared to know and control everything, from the names of Dark artefacts dealers to intricate political games. So much was going on at Hogwarts, and nobody would guess a thing. Harry had been right in the middle of all the activity and until then he could never have guessed what a well-developed and organized net Dumbledore was knitting. 

"Azkaban is still our weakest point." Harry heard him saying. "Nobody but the guards and authorized supervisors are allowed inside, and it serves nothing when I ask Fudge to conduct an independent inspector in. For all we know they could be administering the kiss to all the prisoners or letting them free." 

"Unless he has a place for a couple of zombies in his plans it will do Voldemort little good to free his supporters from there," Sirius answered. He was fidgeting with his wand, and from time to time sparkles came out of it, burning the hands of its owner. 

"The Lestranges too?" Snape's voice suddenly sounded hoarse and his body tensed. He turned to Sirius in anticipation of the answer, seemingly forgetting his previous intention to talk to him in a tone dripping with loathing when he addressed him. 

"I don't know." Sirius' words hung in the air. He stared at the fireplace without really seeing it. The shadows of whatever he was really seeing danced in his eyes together with the reflections of the flames. 

"After thirteen years of living hell they were still waiting for Voldemort, expecting their prize in return for their loyalty. They used to weep in their dreams, plead to suffer even more if that eased the fate of their master. It that's not crazy I don't know what is." Shaking himself of the memory Sirius finally looked away from the fire and turned to Snape, but was greeted by an expression of such a hatred he immediately looked away. This time, however, it wasn't him who provoked that reaction. 

He bit his lip and offered tentatively. "I can keep a look at Azkaban. I have nothing else to do anyway, the Ministry'll take care of Malfoy from now on." A unanimous shaking of Professor McGonagall's and Dumbledore's heads was the answer. 

"You of all the people will do nothing of the sort." McGonagall's voice was full of steel notes that sent chills down the spines of every Gryffindor mixed with pure amazement. 

"I of all the people am the only one who knows the island well enough. There are some places where one can hide, and the Dementors will pay no attention to an animal. I know I can do it." Grim irony touched his lips. 

"Would you listen to me if I told you not to?" Silence was the only answer. Dumbledore shook his head. "You have changed a lot, but not in essentials." He said, getting up from his chair and closing the meeting. "You would still insist on your plan until you get everyone's agreement and an authorization when you really don't need either of the two." 

There was no moon that night, but millions of stars shone very brightly in the sky. Harry and a big black dog walked along the Forbidden Forest until they reached the furthest limit of the Hogwarts grounds. Only then did Sirius take his true form. In the night his transformation was invisible, and Harry was startled when a tall figure of his godfather suddenly appeared behind his back. 

"Are you really going to go back to Azkaban?" He asked quietly. He didn't want to say good-bye so soon. 

Sirius nodded solemly. "Dumbledore knows we need it, or he would have argued much longer. And it's not like I have to get inside. There are plenty of places where you can hide and observe." 

"What if you get caught?" Maybe it was because it was so late, but Harry seemed to ask a lot of stupid questions. What answer did he expect to a question like that? An assurance that everything would be okay? It could be enough for somebody with a different past, but Harry had seen enough examples to know that the life was very rarely what one could call fair. 

"Can happen," was the short answer, and those two words were enough to reward Harry for the many times he was not taken seriously and all the assurances that he was too small to understand certain things. The cruel reality hugged his heart with icey fingers. Sirius was treating him like an adult, and he wasn't sure he enjoyed it as much as he had expected. 

"When I got out of Azkaban I was grateful for every breath of air I took outside those walls," his godfather continued, his words hanging in the stillness of the night. "I wasn't used to the sunlight, but just knowing that I could see the sun if I wanted was the best of feelings. Now it's not enough anymore. I'm getting selfish. I want my life back. I want to do something more than hide, to make sure that nothing ever happens to you again, to avenge James and Lily. Can you understand that, Harry?" 

"I do," muttered Harry. He watched his godfather take out his wand and disappear in the night before making himself on the way back to Hogwarts. He hoped with all his strength that what he had said was true. 

A/N: sorry it took longer than usual, but my exams are here and there's nothing I can do. I'm getting a couple of weeks off now (sorry about that, too, but at least I warned) If you want to do something else that just waiting for the next chapter (in which Harry will finally get Snape back. Now that'll get him in trouble much more than any Book of Phoenix!) one of the possibilities is to write a review. It will give me the push I need. 

Once again thanks my wonderful beta Lin-z for her time and help. 

And this HUGE THANKS is for all the people who take their time to review. One line from you really makes my day! Special mention to people who do it regularly (Dumbledore's True Love, Kelzery, herm, Tinabedina, CassidyRai, Rachel, Katia, jona, Rachel G-G, marykmac...). If I forgot any of you I'm an ingrateful thing and you are entitled to 1 (one) flame, but please take pity of me! 


	8. On the steps of the Marauders

Disclaimer: as usual  
A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the delay, my exams aren't finished but the worse is now in the past. Thanks for wishing me luck, I'm sure it helped. And thanks to everyone who reviews, and even to the ones who don't (you and I are going to have a serious talk one of this days, guys!) 

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix Chapter VIII: On the steps of the Marauders

Harry had no idea how long he had slept or what time it was as he woke up the next morning and stumbled from the empty dorm to the equally empty common room. The only person there was Hermione, sitting with her Arithmancy book on her lap and waiting for him to appear. 

"It's almost one. Ron has gone to get some food," she informed him. 

Harry failed to notice the uneasy look she gave him as he let himself sink in a chair and closed his eyes. His night trip to Dumbledore's office and then across Hogwarts grounds had completely exhausted him. He heard Hermione stand up from her own chair and come closer to him. 

"Harry, Sirius he may be in tight position." She started cautiously. "He was seen yesterday; Hit wizards almost arrested him and the strangest of all… well… the way the Daily Prophet made it sound, he and Lucius Malfoy had some business together." 

The implications of Hermione's anxious words finally pierced Harry's sleepy mind. 

"I know," he answered, suppressing a yawn. "He only wanted to incriminate Malfoy that way. A rather complicated way to do it, but it seems to have worked." 

"You knew of it?" Hermione asked, incredulously. 

"He escaped by coming back here, you know, through the Portkey to the Phoenix room. McGonagall was furious and Dumbledore gave him a good telling-off, but I don't think they minded it that much. They stayed in Dumbledore's office forever, talking about the Order. You can't begin to imagine how mistaken we were. They know everything… " 

Only then did Harry realize that Hermione wasn't all that interested in the duties of the Order of Phoenix but rather in his own nightly wanderings. 

"You went after the book, didn't you?" Hermione's trembling voice was full of anger, sounding very much like that of Professor McGonagall. "After you promised to stay away! How could you?" 

At just that moment, Ron's red head appeared through the portrait hole, followed by the rest of his body and the numerous packages of food he was carrying. Hermione turned to him for support. 

"Can you imagine? He went right after that stupid book, and got caught by Dumbledore in the way!" 

"You went there without us?" Ron let his parcels fall to the table. 

"I didn't get caught by Dumbledore. It was okay. Nobody even asked a question." 

Only the anxiety about Sirius' fate this morning let Harry's friends dismiss his night-time absence. Now that they knew Sirius was okay, they were fuming. Hermione couldn't believe that Harry had done something so stupid. Ron was just upset because Harry seemed to have got into yet another great adventure without him. 

"We came here after the feast and you weren't anywhere! We were worried sick!" Hermione went on. "The only reason we didn't call Professor McGonagall was because we thought you may have done something like that." 

"Good thinking." Harry answered laconically. Last night McGonagall had sort of accepted that he was there with Sirius. Nobody seemed to realize that he got there not to see his godfather but with the criminal intent of getting the Book of Phoenix in his hands. He didn't want to imagine what could have happened if Professor McGonagall had started to make deeper investigations into his nightly whereabouts. 

"_Good thinking?_ You really find it great that after giving your friends a solemn promise they find it completely logical that you would break it at the first chance?" 

Harry didn't find it great. He had felt guilty before, when he got past the gargoyle and after realizing how serious Sirius was about staying away from the Order. The problem was that it was difficult to stay that way for long. He was developing a taste for adventure, and the fact that he had always succeeded before added fire to his excitement. Ashamed and now fully awake Harry proceeded to tell his friends everything he heard the night before. 

"Is he mad?" was the unanimous reaction after he finished his tale. Harry was quite sure to whom it referred, but not so much about the part of Sirius' actions his friends meant. "He can't go anywhere near Azkaban again. There's no such thing as getting accustomed to the Dementors; it can only get worse, and for him they won't even call the authorities, just kiss him, end of story." 

"He seemed quite sure he could do it," Harry protested weakly. He wished Hermione hadn't voiced his deepest worries. He also avoided reading whatever crazy theories the article about Sirius contained. It was enough that Hermione had informed him that Lucius Malfoy, six equally well-known political figures and one member of the Ministry had been held all night for interrogation. 

They left the food Ron had brought on the table and went downstairs to have lunch. Excited whispers about the scandalous relationship of the father of one of the students with one of the most dangerous Dark Lord supporters was already running rampant throughout the Great Hall. Ron disappeared for a minute and came back with a letter from home in one hand and his owl Pig in another, beamingly announcing that his father has been appointed to conduct a search of the Malfoy Manor and immediately gathering a crowd of delighted Gryffindors around him. 

Harry used this moment of his friend's glory to finish eating and discretely disappear from the room. He found no pleasure in ruminating over the matter and, more than anything, he wanted to avoid Draco Malfoy as much as possible. He realised (and most of the Gryffindors reminded him constantly about it) that he had a priceless opportunity to gloat as much as he wanted about his foe, but couldn't avoid thinking that no matter how difficult the things for Lucius Malfoy were, they were a hundred times worse for Sirius Black. 

"The Halloween Raid," as the media had christened it, remained the main topic of conversation at Hogwarts for a long period of time to be slowly substituted by the OWLs as the Christmas came nearer. Almost all teachers announced that they were doing partial tests before holidays. Failing them meant loads of homework and obligatory lessons starting in January. Nobody admitted to being worried, but more and more fifth-years were to be seen studying in the library or the common room during the wee hours of the night. 

The lectures were becoming more difficult and time-consuming than ever before. Professor McGonagall hadn't wasted time with praises the day they finally mastered the basics of Materialization and managed to make a sample of sand disappear from the table and materialize a drop of water in its place. She immediately gave each of them a set containing a chunk of wood, a stone and a needle and instructed to produce an object they'd want to take to a desert with them. Ron and Harry were still discussing what it should be by the end of the class, while Hermione kept waiving her wand over something that was slowly donning the form of a compass. 

Much to everybody's disappointment they weren't studying wandless charms with Professor Flitwick anymore. Next on their Charms programme were Repairing and Conserving spells. They spent class after class enchanting bottles not to break, putting together broken porcelain teacups and sealing jars so that its contents would stay fresh for years longer. 

Nothing, however, could be compared to the torture that their Defence Against the Dark Arts class was becoming. Snape seemed to have switched all his anti- Gryffindor activity to his own favourite subject and spent class after class coming up with new excuses to take some points from any member of the house in general and Harry in particular. Oddly, Harry continued to be fond of the subject that at first Remus Lupin and later the false Mad-Eye Moody had brought him to love. Apart from the first day fiasco he was able to easily block every dark curse Snape or anyone else happened to send in his direction. 

Suddenly Christmas was only one week away, and outside the castle everything was draped in a soft blanket of snow. Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, doing homework, as per usual. The parchment in front of Harry read: "_Strangling Curses: Peculiarities, Uses and Ways of Defence._" Snape happened to be quite fond of written essays, and there weren't many things worse than a written essay for Snape. The book laying open on the table discerned between at least ten different ways to strangle someone, mostly depending on how slowly and painfully you wanted the victim to die. Harry turned the page that featured a didactic scheme of human airways and read the next paragraph the Auto- Underlining quill he got from Hermione chose for him: 

_"The most common choke hex has a yellowish trail and can therefore be distinguished from the more elaborated obstructive curses that tend to feature a thin white line."_

Harry gave his quill a suspicious look and turned to see what Hermione's roll had to say on the matter. Much to his dismay she seemed to have copied the whole sentence plus some more: 

_"It's important to remember, however, that the humidity of the air and the outdoor temperature can influence the readings." _

Harry turned to Ron and was relieved to see that his essay didn't contain any mention on the colour of curse trails. When he pointed that flaw out to his friend Ron only shrugged his shoulders. 

"All curses we learn about are yellow or white or pink. I have never heard of a blue one, and the only one that's green is Avada Kedavra." 

Harry had to agree that he was right but copied the paragraph down anyway. One could never been too careful with Snape. He had to admit one thing about the teacher: the man knew even more about Dark Arts than he knew about potions. Harry only hoped that knowledge extended to the defence against them, too. 

Harry saw how right he had been in being worried two days later. At the end of the class Snape went through the rows of tables, giving back the corrected essays with words of praise for Slytherins and sharp comments for the Gryffindor part of the room. 

"Mr. Weasley, if you had made your essay just a little shorter the only part worth reading would be the title. This isn't kindergarten. You are expected to produce full-length compositions with a content worth reading. A six, and you should consider yourself extremely lucky." 

He moved to Hermione, blissfully missing Ron's killing stare. 

"Ms. Granger, if you think you can get a better mark by writing oversized essays you are very mistaken. A poor version of British Encyclopedia isn't what I asked for." Hermione looked positively miserable. Never before had her extensive preparation of the homework been considered a flaw. 

"Ahhh, and here we finally have something worth noticing." Every head in the room turned in his direction. "Not too much information and yet without excessive synthesis. Very complete and just the adequate length." 

With a feeling of unreality coming upon him Harry realised that Snape had come to stand right in front of his table. Slowly he looked from his desk up at the teacher and was greeted with what could vaguely be regarded as a smile spreading slowly across Snape's pale face. "The ideal middle-point, Potter. You have a _five_." 

Harry's heart stopped. Some students giggled. Snape let his essay slip on the table and dismissed everybody with the announcement that the next lesson they would be having a practical exam, possibly on Strangling and Burning curses. 

Harry heard the sound of books closing around him and steps leaving the room but didn't move until Ron shook him on the shoulder. He grabbed the ill- fated roll and stormed out of the classroom. He couldn't let Snape see him loose the control. "Grades aren't all that important," he repeated to himself. "It isn't about grades at all." It was a war, something between him and Snape alone, except maybe for a part about his father and Sirius… Padfoot and Prongs… 

Harry stopped dead on his track, hit by the idea that suddenly started to form in his head. He had completely forgotten… Could it really be so easy? So simple and perfect. He opened his bag and started to look for his timetable. The rest of his class walked around and past him to the main gate of the castle, heading outside to Care of Magical Creatures. He was left alone in the middle of the entrance hall until first Ron and then Hermione noticed his absence and came running back. 

"Harry, we _do_ have Care of Magical Creatures now, believe me!" Ron called impatiently. Harry ignored his words, closing his bag. His timetable didn't say anything about seventh-years classes. 

"Do you know where Fred and George can be right now?" 

"Why?" 

"I have business with them." 

"What kind of business?" Hermione came near. 

"To help me get vengeance on Snape." It seemed even better when he said it aloud. Silence reigned in the room until Ron found his voice and whispered urgently, looking around to check if somebody had overheard Harry's words. 

"Are you crazy?" 

"A _five_? Crabbe and Goyle both have a _six_! It isn't just favouritism anymore!" Harry shouted, ignoring his friend's silent plea to keep his voice low. "He's taking points off Gryffindor for everything except maybe for breathing. Do you really think he'll give us a chance tomorrow at the exam?" 

"You'll play right into his hands by getting expelled. Playing tricks on him won't help." 

"Depends on the trick." Harry answered quizzically. His idea was also perfect in that aspect, if he could pull it off this time. He had almost failed once before, that's why he wanted Fred and George's help this time. 

"If I show you something do you swear you won't tell anyone even if you don't like it?" He saw Ron nod eagerly, but his question was addressed to Hermione. He supposed he should feel guilty about doubting her loyalty, but everything was too perfect to let her good intentions ruin it. 

"I swear I won't tell anyone if it doesn't involve going after Voldemort, or leaving the castle, or something just plain dangerous." She tried to sound strict, but Harry only grinned. 

"Where could your brothers be right now?" He asked Ron once more. The answer was that they probably were heading to Advanced Transformation. 

"Get them to skip the lesson. I'll meet you near the classroom." 

"But Harry!" 

"The classes end tomorrow. Our exam with Snape is tomorrow. We will start planning it today. Now." 

He ran all the way up to the dorm, his heart beating wildly in his chest, and not only because he was running. "Your father would have been disappointed if you never had played a prank in your Hogwarts years." It wasn't exactly what Professor Lupin had said to him, but close enough. And it wasn't going to be a pointless joke. Snape was going to pay Gryffindor the due respect, he'd see to it. He opened his trunk and reached to the bottom. Sirius' birthday present was exactly where he had left it. Harry grabbed the Voluntariatum gem and ran downstairs. 

Fred and George didn't have any objection to skipping a class with Professor McGonagall in favour of the promised adventure, as they had already completed their examinations. They waved at him as he turned around corner into the Transformations corridor and motioned for him to follow. Ron and Hermione went past them, not looking very convinced. The five of them strolled along the empty passageway until they reached a painting Harry had seen hundreds of times and never given a second thought. Fred counted three bricks to the right and at his touch a hole in the wall appeared. 

"Privacy," commented George, "is the mother of every successful prank." 

The opening was so small they had to crawl to get inside. On the other side was a room enough to accommodate two people, but barely able to contain a party of five. 

Everyone looked at Harry in expectation. He opened his fist to reveal his precious possession. "It's called voluntariatum." He explained. "When added to a drink it makes the person who drinks it carry out any petition and… hm… be nice to other people." The truth was he wasn't sure how exactly it was supposed to work. He guessed he just had to trust Sirius on that. "The idea is to give it to Snape and see what happens, preferably before he fails the entire Gryffindor house in Potions and Dark Arts." 

Not much of a plan really, but that's what the twins were for. Their reaction was exactly like he expected it to be. 

"Brilliant." 

"But risky." 

"Where did you get this, er… thing?" That was, naturally, Hermione. Harry bit his lip in hesitation. Nobody deserved to discover the real identity of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs more than the Weasley twins, but mentioning anything about Sirius could easily cost him his life and somehow he doubted Professor Lupin would appreciate that kind of fame. 

"From someone who loves Snape so much he sends him personal Howlers." He finally offered, receiving surprised looks from Ron and Hermione. "It wasn't planned for him, though." He added quickly. "It was for the Dursleys, to make them nicer for my birthday." 

He was almost sorry for torturing Fred and George that way. Almost. Ron was enjoying immensely. 

"You have your secrets and never tell me." He paid no attention to their wounded looks. "Now we have ours." 

"All we need is to put this in Snape's drink." Harry reminded. 

The twins exchanged looks and switched to a business mode. "The teacher's room is too risky, we'll have to get into his dungeon. If we do it this night, will the effect hold until tomorrow?" 

Harry nodded. "Do you know where Snape's dungeon is?" He asked in return. 

"Isn't that what the Marauder's map is for?" At that point Harry had to confess to the loss of the precious possession. The twin's disappointed faces didn't last for long. 

"We told you we know the map by heart. The entrance is in the corridor next to the Potions dungeon. Which will suffer some spectacular explosion this night. You wait for Snape to open the door and come out before getting in, we won't know the passwords anyway." 

After discussing the details and checking the corridor for indiscrete eyes they crept through the hole one by one and went in opposite directions. Fred and George disappeared after saying something about needing supplies and telling Harry to meet them near Potions dungeon at eleven. Apparently, they didn't need an Invisibility Cloak to wander around the school late at night. 

"Breaking in Snape's dungeon has to be the craziest and the most dangerous thing we ever did here." Ron said while they went up the stairs. 

"And the most pointless." Hermione added. 

Harry didn't like the way this sounded. It was supposed to be his little private vengeance, his friends had nothing to do with it. The way he saw it, the twins would set up some explosions and disappear and he would be the one to go in and out. He had to take the risk. 

"I'm not sure that the cloak can hide the three of us anymore." He said carefully. "You have grown a lot this summer." He pointed to Ron. 

"We'll have to manage. We still have almost three years here." Ron dismissed the idea at first, but that he looked at Harry with suspicion. "Didn't you call Fred and George so that _they_'d make the distraction and we could _all_ go in?" 

Harry knew Ron had been angry with him before for going after the book of Phoenix without him, though he never told so directly. Poisoning Snape was another wonderful adventure Harry wanted to have without him. 

"It doesn't take three people to drop something in a glass of water," he tried as casually as he could. 

"Do you know what the teacher's quarters look like?" Hermione joined in, and not exactly to help Harry. "I have been in Professor McGonagall's rooms, and there're at least three false passages there. The dungeons are bound to be much worse. You alone won't have time to find his dormitory, less alone sabotage his drink!" 

At that point Harry had to surrender. 

"Gee, Snape's bedroom. The idea alone gives me creeps." Ron laughed before entering the common room and starting to explain their absence to the rest of their class. 

Shortly before eleven they made their way down to the dungeons of the castle, the voluntariatum safe in Harry's pocket. Ron suggested they get there early and gave his brothers a shock but Hermione insisted they played a prank a day and kept it as low as possible. The twins were already working in the Potions dungeon. 

"What are you planning?" Harry asked curiously when they emerged from the classroom after leaving a big package under the teacher's table and a couple of smaller ones near the cupboard with ingredients. 

"Don't worry. When it starts working you'll hear it alright." George smirked. "You can hide behind the statue at the end of the corridor and wait till a very distraught Snape opens his door. We'll give you five minutes to get there." 

Without loosing time Harry, Ron and Hermione squeezed into the tight space between the statue and the wall, pausing only to tighten the cloak around themselves and checking if any part of their bodies was visible. Harry had been right; they were having much more trouble staying under the cloak this year. The darkness was complete, and not a sound reached their ears. The five minutes seemed to go on forever. 

"Do you think it's time," started Hermione when a loud voice of a very angry Professor McGonagall pierced the air. 

"Weasley and Weasley! What do you think you are doing here? Missing classes right before the partials, and now sneaking into the dungeons. Or did you skip the class _because_ you were planning something here?" 

They didn't hear the answer because suddenly a part of the stone wall opened with a hiss and Snape's figure appeared in the brightly lit doorframe. A movement of his hand lit the torches along the corridor, nearly causing Harry to jump. Snape looked around without noticing them and walked quickly in the direction of the voices. 

It wasn't the distraction they had expected, but Harry decided it served their needs. If Ron and Hermione had any objection they didn't voice it, and after Harry started moving in the direction of the door they were forced to follow or be discovered. In less than a second they were inside. 

Harry dived from under the cloak and examined the dungeon. Hermione had been right; the place had at least six passages. She herself suddenly appeared from under the cloak and wordlessly headed for the first door she saw. It opened, and she disappeared inside. Ron's invisible hand touched Harry's shoulder. 

"Gonna stay and watch," whispered a voice from where his head was supposed to be. 

The first door he tried led Harry to what looked like a working office, with dry crocodile hanging from the ceiling and the biggest cauldron he had ever seen. The second one was a storage, and the next didn't open at all. At that point of Harry's exploring Hermione appeared again and, taking his hand and muttering "I told you so" dragged him to one of the doors on his right. 

One look was enough to see that that was what they were looking for. The room was as dark and cold as any of the others, with a low ceiling and torches on the walls, but unlike the others featured several niches on the sides. One of them was occupied by a massive table covered in dark stains; in another stood a bed that looked as though it had never been slept in. All in all it seemed more personal than anything else they had seen thus far. A solitary half-filled glass stood on the table near a green bottle covered in spider webs. 

In two steps Harry was near the table, with another movement the tiny ball appeared in his hand, when... 

"Harry, you said it was for your relatives; that's three people..." 

Plop. It was already inside. Hermione's remark, whilst important and worthy of deeper consideration, came moments too late. They both stood there, watching the pearly gem sink to the bottom of the glass, the solid cover dissolve itself and the silver whirl break free. It moved around the glass until the liquid swirled and the glass vibrated, and then suddenly it was completely quiet. Hermione let out the breath she had been holding. 

Without even looking at one another they made their way back. Two feet appeared shortly in front of them and disappeared again. It was Ron's way of letting them know his location. Again under the cloak they hurried back to the entrance. 

Snape and Professor McGonagall were coming back already. Only a couple of seconds more and they would have been late. Harry, going in the head of the procession, took a step toward the safety of the hollow near the statue. Ron, being the last one and seeing Snape right in front of Harry, instinctively took a step back. Hermione in the middle grabbed them both, trying to avoid splitting up. The time was lost. They were staying in front of the door leading outside of the dungeon, and the heads of Gryffindor and Slytherin houses were advancing through the entrance, looking right through their students and chatting pleasantly among themselves. 

In the shock of the situation the three of them came to the same conclusion and began to walk backwards without making the tiniest of noises. It led them back to the Snape's living room, Harry bumping into Hermione who gritted her teeth to avoid making any sound. All he could do was to silently thank the twins for their wise advise to take their shoes off. Their steps on the stone floor were completely inaudible. 

They stood frozen right in the middle of the room, not knowing where Snape or McGonagall were heading and pleading it wasn't any of the cabinets behind their backs. It was a small relief when the teachers stopped near the table. Snape offered Professor McGonagall a chair and leaned on the wall beside her. 

"If I heard correctly you didn't take any points from either of the young delinquents, Minerva." 

Professor McGonagall let out a sad sigh. "What are ten points in a school competition, Severus? They are only children. It's their last year, they have fun and think they own the school and the whole world. In less than a year they'll go out and figure that the life isn't as safe as they had thought it to be and find out that instead of peace and quiet there's death and suffering outside these walls. Do you know how many applications we received from the students to stay over the Christmas holiday? More than half aren't going home. That hasn't happened since You-Know-Who was in power." 

Silence was the only answer to her solemn soliloquy. Snape's face was in shadow as he turned away to pour another glass of wine which he then offered Minerva. He had his own glass in his left hand. They both drank silently. Harry held his breath. He could feel Hermione shaking a little under the cloak. 

"I'm worried about tomorrow." Professor McGonagall continued after a while. 

"That's why you came here?" Snape's voice was so low Harry couldn't decide if it was mocking or serious. 

"I'm worried about the moral rightness of what we are about to do." 

"It's not like I'm going to use the Unforgivables." Snape returned with a snort. "I have no love lost for Avery, but I know the headmaster's views on the ethics of action. The only thing we're going to do is to talk." 

"I'm worried about you." Professor McGonagall added tiredly. 

Snape only shook his head and, emptying the glass, got up. "Nothing to be worried about. There's not one variable in the plan that has not been discussed at least five times." 

They talked a little more before Snape accompanied Professor McGonagall outside. They wished each other good-night near the entrance to the Potions dungeon while Harry and company quivered in a hidden spot behind their backs and couldn't wait for them to disappear. As soon as Snape went past them to back to his dungeon and McGonagall's steps died behind the corner the three of them broke into running, not caring that if Snape happened to look back he would see three pair of bare feet speeding away. 

They remembered about Fred and George only after running right into them on the stairs leading up to the surface. The twins were waiting for them. 

"We were afraid we'd have to make yet another distraction if you didn't come right after McGonagall left." 

"We became so concentrated on blowing up the stocks of that stinky brew we always use for healing potions we didn't hear her come." 

"Did it work?" George asked. 

"I don't know. He didn't seem to notice it at all." Harry answered tiredly. 

"It had to work. Most of the really powerful potions are tasteless, that's one way to know you did it right. It just needs more time before taking effect." Hermione informed them, sounding none too happy about the success of their mission. 

"McGonagall didn't even take any points from us!" The twins informed them excitedly, not noticing the gloomy mood around them. Harry preferred not to inform them on the reasons she had chosen not to punish them. Every time he thought on their adventure something heavy and cold pressed in his chest and Snape's words replayed in his head: "There's not one variable in the plan that had not been discussed at least five times." Now there was one. 

"We shouldn't have done it." Hermione looked at him for a long moment before turning away and heading up the steps. 

Thanks for reading! Please review, or you won't tell you what terrible consequences Harry's innocent joke has for everyone involved (including Harry himself and Sirius). 

Hm… Not very convincing, but at least I tried. 


	9. Consequences

A/N - Once again, thanks all of the people who keep supporting this! This time the special thanks goes to Lord of the Net for his 8 reviews! ( Be sure I'll read your story as soon as I have time.) It's not every day someone reviews every one of the chapters. In fact I think nobody does it. Some start, than disappear. Are you not reading anymore or are you simply too lazy?! Hope it's the second one. 

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

Chapter IX: Consequences 

Neither during breakfast nor later in the day did Harry, Ron and Hermione exchange a word about their trip to Snape's dungeon. They seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement to entirely avoid the subject. Fred and George kept winking conspiratorially at them from across the table and pointing furtively in the direction of the professor's table. Snape was nowhere to be seen. 

It seemed incredible that they managed to sit through the morning classes, let alone to face the Transformations exam. Performing difficult spells under the watching eyes of Professor McGonagall was pure torture. Harry was sure the word "troublemaker" was written right across his forehead, but neither the teachers nor anybody in his class seemed to notice. 

He and his friends arrived to the Defence classroom long before it started to fill with students. The Slytherins entered in a loud crowd chatting happily, knowing they had nothing to fear from their favourite teacher. Gryffindors came in one by one, most with their noses still glued to the books, trying to catch the last bits of information before having to face the inevitable. 

Unable to sit still Harry too opened his copy of _Dark Curses and Countercurses_, feeling like the Defence exam was the least of his worries. Time passed. The bell announcing the start of classes rang through the corridors. Professor Snape still wasn't there. 

It was so unlike him that a hurricane of whispers swept through the class after the echo of the bell died and the door remained closed. Hopeful looks appeared on the faces of many of the Gryffindor students. 

"Maybe he stepped on Mrs. Norris, fell down the stairs and broke his leg," Seamus suggested gleefully. 

"And is now lying somewhere, helpless, crying for help, and nobody can hear him," Dean added with much enthusiasm. As unreal as that train of events was, it was gaining a lot of weight on Harry's side of the classroom. 

Harry exchanged a worried look with his friends. It wasn't supposed to happen like that. The day before, Harry would have never imagined that he would be looking forward to seeing Snape coming through the door to start the examination, but now he was barely able to sit still. 

He was having serious doubts about their little prank, and he knew that Ron and Hermione both shared that feeling, though nobody wanted to admit it to the others. He also knew he was the only one of the three who had the whole picture of the disaster they could produce, or maybe had produced already. The twins were completely in the dark, having no idea about the conversation between McGonagall and Snape in his office. Ron knew of the conversation, but even he didn't hear Hermione's later remark about the Voluntariatum being prepared for three people instead of one. Hermione may have been better informed than Ron, but Harry was pretty certain that the name Avery meant nothing to her. 

Bottom line was that only Harry was able to put the whole picture together: as a result of their joke Snape could be facing a meeting with a Death Eater while under the effects of a strong will-altering potion. 

It didn't help matters that Snape's imaginary injury had, in the meantime, gone from a broken leg to brain trauma with an emergency trip to St. Mungo's. Harry could think of things much worse than that, things that he would never wish his worst enemy to face. And Snape was supposedly on their side. 

Suddenly the door opened. Everybody was immediately in his or her desk, quills in hand. All talking died at once. Harry was about to breathe freely when the air froze in his lungs. It hadn't been Snape who had entered. It was Dumbledore, and his face was everything but smiling. 

"Professor Snape had to leave Hogwarts and wasn't able to come back in time for this class. I'm afraid there will be no Defence Against the Dark Arts for you today." The announcement was met with cheers from all but three students. Harry's heart stubbornly refused to start beating again. 

"However, as we can't have a group of students running around school during class hours we'll all stay here and have a small discussion on a subject as important as the actual training: legitimacy of fighting Dark Arts… with Dark Arts." 

The classroom was instantly filled with heated discussion and Harry groaned. Couldn't any of them see the gravity in Dumbledore's eyes? It wasn't the Dark Arts at all what he was worrying about at the moment, though he had to admit that a small smile crossed the headmaster's face when Parvati heatedly proclaimed that no normal person would even want to start learning dark curses. He couldn't avoid noticing that Dumbledore's eyes kept turning in the direction of the door. 

Harry searched for his friends' gaze, and their eyes told him just what he had expected. 

"I'm telling him. At the end of the class." 

A shadow of fear crossed Ron's face. Hermione nodded resolutely.  
"We're telling him together." 

Dumbledore's worried face tormented Harry through the rest of the class. The short looks he was sending in the direction of the door were becoming more frequent. He was clearly waiting for something. Then, suddenly, it came. 

Without any forewarning the door flew open and Professor Snape burst into the room, causing Dean Thomas to cough with surprise in mid- sentence. Everyone stared expectantly back at him, but he didn't seem to acknowledge them. He went directly to Dumbledore. 

"You are late." The headmaster's inquisitive look attempted to pierce the otherwise impenetrable features of the man in front of him. Snape only shrugged his shoulders. 

"You can't predict everything." 

"Everything…" 

"…Went smoothly, but we need to talk." 

Receiving Dumbledore's accepting nod he turned around and barked to the class: "Everyone dismissed." 

"But Professor, what about our exams? Our grades…" Draco Malfoy hadn't been feeling well under the close scrutiny of Dumbledore, and was now celebrating the return of his favourite teacher. Snape stared at him as if he just noticed his presence. 

"You'll receive your grades according to your essays on strangling curses. Now get out of here!" 

Malfoy was certainly not accustomed to that kind of treatment, but Harry and his friends didn't celebrate his humiliation for long as the meaning of Snape's words sank in. 

"So much work for nothing!" Ron fumed quietly. "We go through all the trouble and he goes and disappears for the whole lesson, and then remembers those foul essays! Imagine the fools we'd have made of ourselves going to Dumbledore with the confession!" 

Anyway, there was nothing they could do. Having enough common sense to recognise Snape's anger for what it was everyone quickly hurried out of the room. Harry privately thought he was glad everything ended that way, even if he had to attend to extra Defence lessons with Snape for the rest of his life. He was quickly packing all his things back in his bag when Snape's next words, spoken a little louder than necessary, caught his attention. 

"He's a pathetic, miserable rat. He's very afraid of his master, but I managed to persuade him it was wiser to be afraid of _us_. He'll do as we tell, but he has a lot of petitions." 

To Harry, poisoned Snape didn't sound any different from the normal Snape. Acting more out of instinct than on decision he kneeled under his table and pretended to tie his boots. Afraid of us - was that what Snape had meant by promising McGonagall not to use the Unforgivable Curses? 

"I think we can arrange it." Dumbledore's words were calm and serene, and it surprised Harry a good deal that Snape seemed to shudder at hearing them. He shifted a little to get a better look. 

"He's playing with us, looking how much he can get out of the deal. When I came to you, I didn't put any conditions." Was it Harry's imagination, or was there something uncharacteristically frantic about the way Professor Snape was speaking? 

"That's why I trust you the way I'll never trust Avery." 

"I," Snape struggled with the words, "well, he wants too much." There was almost a note of desperate plea with the headmaster in his voice. 

"He has already lost everything that was really important. He's a broken man, Severus. Don't judge him too severely only because he doesn't have your strength. I'm sure you can work out his conditions…" 

"Petitions." 

"Whatever. Give him what he wants. Sometimes it works better than any threats." 

"Yes, Headmaster." 

Harry had already tied and untied his boots several times, and it seemed a good moment to exit the scene. He reached for his bag and stood up, jumping back when the menacing figure of Snape appeared before him. Then he noticed the look in his eyes. It was such a contrast to his normal expression that Harry dropped the bag and stared at him. He looked as if he had just lost the most important battle of his life. 

"Potter, to my office. Now." The look was gone as soon as it had appeared, leaving Harry to wonder if it had been there in the first place. Harry gave a start at Snape's words and broke into a thousand worried thoughts. "We have things to discuss." 

Dumbledore patted Snape on the shoulder and strode from the dungeon, leaving Harry to follow his teacher out of the classroom. He caught Ron and Hermione's shocked looks as he obediently followed Snape in the direction of his office. 

"Sit." Snape pointed to a chair and Harry sat down, looking around the room he had already visited less than 24 hours before. The crocodile glared at him from the ceiling. Snape stood in front of him, looking positively intimidating. Harry searched his face for signs of anything, from any indication that the Voluntariatum had worked to a twisted smirk that would confirm that their prank had been discovered. The expression on Snape's sallow face was unreadable. 

"Your essay on Strangling curses was especially good, Potter. I don't understand why you got such a low mark on it." 

Harry blinked several times before looking back at the Head of Slytherin house. Snape had neither disappeared nor transformed in somebody else. His disdainful voice was still the same, his dislike for Harry written all over his features. It was his actions that had changed. Sirius' potion worked, but in a different way than he had expected. Harry tried to recall the letter that accompanied the Voluntariatum; it was supposed to be a mood-changing potion that made people act nicely. Harry couldn't see any changes in Snape's mood, but then again, maybe even triple dose wasn't enough to improve it. Maybe it was more about the "act nicely" bit. Holding his breath Harry used the opportunity and played along. 

"It's possible there was a mistake correcting it," Harry said as casually as he could. Asking Professor Snape a favour was one thing he never wanted to do, but acting nicely only worked when two were playing the same game. "Could you take another look at it?" He stopped, but than another thought came to his mind. If he could pull this out, maybe he could talk Snape into taking another look at all Gryffindor's essays. After more than three month of low marks and degrading remarks it would only be fair. 

Harry wasn't sure what part of his babbling caused it, but Snape's face turned a shade of grey. A terrible suspicion crossed his head. What if he realised he was being manipulated, but couldn't do anything to against it? He shuddered at the thought. 

"I don't have time for that, Potter. I have a meeting. Surely you don't want to make your godfather wait?" The teacher seemed to choose his words with great care, never letting Harry from under his scrutinising gaze. 

"Can't you do it afterwards? Wait! You're going to Azkaban to see Sirius?" Harry jumped from his seat. He hadn't heard anything from his godfather since they said good-bye last Halloween. 

"Headmaster Dumbledore thinks it does him good to be near people instead of Dementors once in a while." There was no sympathy in Snape's voice. 

Harry stared at the floor, not wanting to show the teacher that his words had stuck a nerve. It had been bad enough for Sirius last year when he had to live in a cave, and there weren't even Dementors around. 

_What if you get caught?  
Can happen. _

And I'll never see you again. 

Harry looked up and was met by Snape's look of expectation. A decision formed in Harry's mind. 

"Would you mind if I came along?" He held his breath and waited for an answer. The Voluntariatum was working; otherwise Snape would have kicked him out of his office at the sole suggestion about his essay. But what if he was asking for too much? 

"If that's what you want." Snape answered indifferently, showing with all his body that he wasn't excited about the prospect in the least. Harry would have believed him if it wasn't for a strange look that crossed his face once again. Was it relief? 

Snape went to one of his numerous cabinets, opened it and extracted a wooden box with several little stones similar to the one Sirius wore around his neck. He selected one of the portkey and threw it on the table. 

Everything was too easy. Snape was acting too strangely. Harry brushed the thought aside with determination. Not everything in his life had to be difficult. He'd make a quick trip, see his godfather and be back for dinner. 

Harry extended his arm and grabbed the Portkey, wondering how Snape managed to touch it without being transported somewhere. At his touch, however, it had worked. Instead of the stale air of the dungeon, the fresh smell of the sea and the sound of powerful waves assaulted his senses. He opened his eyes not being aware of having closed them and stared at the infinite water in front of him; Harry had never seen the sea before. 

Around him there were only lifeless rocks; sharp peaks were hiding the view of the rest of the island. Harry turned away from the water and began to climb. He was drawn to the sight he knew was going to meet him once he reached the top of the cliff and dreaded it at the same time. He was only partly aware of Professor Snape appearing from nothing behind him. 

Imperturbable and menacing, the fortress of Azkaban grew in his view as he reached the top. It was maybe a mile away; too far for anyone to notice him among the stones and yet near enough to give him chills. Instinctively he tried to stay as close as possible to the ground. He was about to turn around and go ask Snape where the hell Sirius was when a hand came down on his shoulder. 

"Seen enough? Come." A voice called gently in his ear. He turned around and was greeted by the sight of his godfather motioning to follow him back to the shore. Sirius lost no time by climbing down. A black dog jumped soundlessly down from the cliff, and seconds later Sirius was standing up and crossing the space between him and Snape. Harry, if not so gracefully, followed. 

"Why the hell did you bring _him_ here?!" Apparently Sirius considered the bay under the cliffs safe enough to risk slightly raising his voice. 

"He asked to come along," was Snape's docile replay. 

Sirius drew a deep breath and shot Harry a reproachful look, but eventually decided to postpone his lecture until they were out of Snape's hearing range. 

"And what have _you_ lost here?" 

"I thought you would like to know that you plan is working." 

"I'll know it's working when I see the results." Sirius snapped. "Those are emergency Portkeys, I can't believe you used them…" 

A sudden realisation that Snape wasn't paying him any attention made him shut up and study his face with anxious awareness. "What's wrong?" He asked, suddenly dropping his voice to a whisper. Snape's haunted face convulsed in a painful grimace and his lips moved silently. Sirius's face went white. 

"Wands out." He ordered in controlled detached voice, slowly turning his back to the sea. His left arm went to lie protectively on Harry's shoulder. 

It was Harry who saw it first, though he had no idea what he was seeing. Something was moving through the air in their direction. It looked every bit like a little silver moon and for a fraction of a second he wondered wildly why a Boggart was attacking them and why it took the form of a moon if Professor Lupin wasn't anywhere near. Than his reflexes kicked in. With no better plan he shouted _"Impedimenta,"_ slowing the object's hasty projectile. 

It worked only for a second, during which the moon that wasn't really a moon hung motionless in the air. There had to be more than one wand controlling its course because it trembled, changed its path, and hit the ground right under Harry's feet. He jumped back in the time he heard Sirius yell _"Stupefy!"_

He followed the path of the curse and finally saw their attackers. Several figures clad in black appeared behind the rocks surrounding the place where they stood. There were at least three that Harry could see and he realised there had to be another one when a fire hex from behind almost burned his ear. 

Something distracted him from the attackers. The earth trembled a little under his feet. Had he not been staring at the ball when it hit the ground he wouldn't have noticed anything. What he saw was the earth moving up and down under the impact, as if the sphere had fallen into water instead of onto the ground and created a wave that spread in every direction. 

"Get down!" Harry threw himself on the ground, partly because his instincts screamed at him to get down, partly because Sirius tackled him unceremoniously moments before the rock behind them was annihilated through a shower of hexes. The cloud of dust that was left of it made it difficult to see anything. Harry crawled blindly until he reached a secure spot behind another rock. His tunic was already torn apart and his arms and hands bleeding from the sharp-edged stones he had been crawling on. Without seeing where he was aiming he extended his arm and sent a couple of the nastiest curses he knew in general direction of the Death Eaters. A sickening sound of metal scratching against metal filled the air. 

He felt more than saw Sirius kneeling beside the rock near him. His curses, too, were more of a distraction than an actual attack. He was having too much trouble maintaining the contra-spells in front of them. _'It's impossible,'_ Harry thought to himself, _'there are only four of them, how do they manage so many curses?! And where the hell is Snape?'_

Harry fired blindly once again, and once again the resulting thunder resonated around him. From the corner of his eye he saw Sirius rolling over to his side. He shifted and prepared to fire again. 

"Harry, wait!" Sirius' hand twisted his in a late attempt to stop the curse but only succeeded in changing its direction and sending it into the sky. Harry twisted furiously to get free. "I think we're…" 

Harry's curse didn't get very high; with a gut-twisting sound he couldn't place before, it hit against an invisible barrier, rebounded, and flew back in their direction. The force of the impact lifted Harry from the ground. His shoulder was the first part of his body to connect with it again, making him dizzy with pain. Next thing he knew Sirius was pinning him down, his body shielding him from the flying incandescent debris. 

"…In a Moebius Wrap. It doesn't…" Sirius was stopped by a fit of cough from the smoke around them "let anything out, curses or objects or people. Are you hurt?" he asked guiltily, realising that Harry was clutching his shoulder and shifting away from him to get some freedom of movement. Receiving a negative for an answer he continued: "It does let everything in, though." As if to stress his words several curses struck the ground not far away from them. 

"How can we get out?" Harry asked. 

Sirius' silence answered his question better than any words. Curses continued to soar over their heads for a few moments before the attackers realised they were receiving no response and then everything went quiet. Harry realised he was clutching his wand so hard he risked breaking it. It couldn't have mattered less. All of a sudden his beloved possession was nothing more than a useless piece of wood. 

Everything had been planned to the finest detail; they were given no chance to fight back. _But how,_ Harry thought desperately, _how could they know he would be there if he himself only decided to come along half an hour ago? Unless it was Sirius they were after. Unless it was an awful coincidence they attacked exactly when he was there. Exactly when Snape came to visit…_

The masked figures got closer. There were effectively four of them, two who seemed to give orders and two bulky bodyguards that dutifully followed their lead. They didn't need to hide anymore. The opposing curses could no longer reach them. 

One of them waived his wand and fine silver traces marked the limits where the Moebius charm wore off. 

"Don't make us wait, Black! You know you don't have a chance!" 

Sirius swore under his breath. 

"You are loosing time, Avery. I know their kind, they fight until the end." Another one answered. Lucius Malfoy tucked away his wand, took his mask off and dried the drops of sweat on his forehead with a fine gesture. The second man winced at the mention of his name. 

"We are hardly fooling anyone. In fact, there's hardly anyone around here whom we need to fool, and anyway it's too hot under those stupid disguises." He continued irritably. Grudgingly, his companions discovered their faces. Malfoy took out his wand again and pointed it lazily in the direction of Harry and Sirius. 

"Am I right? You are going to fight. Gryffindors always do." Harry was sure Malfoy couldn't see them, but pressed his body even closer down to the ground. He was stunned when Sirius, far from doing the same thing, rose up to his feet and faced Malfoy. 

"And of course, only a Gryffindor would hope to win a duel tied up by a Moebius cage. After all, they are invincible." Sirius' only answer was to level his wand protectively in front of himself. 

_"Obliterus!"_

The curse flew in Sirius' direction, was blocked and whizzed into the ground. Apparently the wrap didn't prevent the countercurses from working as long as they didn't leave its limits. 

_"Petrificus totalis! Obliterus! Ilusio Sensoria!" _

Harry had actually believed Malfoy would fight Sirius one by one. He had been wrong. He watched his godfather block another hex, avoid the next and stumble back under the force of Avery's paralysing curse. Harry snapped out of his paralysis, jumped to his feet and produced a protective shield like the ones he had learned in class. It didn't hold long, but bought Sirius enough time to recover. 

"Do you plan on keeping that up much longer? Maybe some Dementors will be the enforcement we need." Lucius Malfoy's voice resembled Draco's lazy and teasing droll in every aspect. He played with his wand, pointing from Harry to Sirius and back to Harry. "But I think we can solve this all by ourselves. _Nihilo!_" 

A huge globe of glowing flames surged from the point of his wand. Harry saw Sirius take a step forward and take the impact on himself while pushing him aside with his left hand. The fireball stopped at the point of his wand, faltered for a moment but didn't disappear. It started to grow bigger, overcoming the countercurse and burning them with its closeness. Sirius' wand snapped under the pressure of the flames, its pieces instantly consumed by the wild fire. Without anything to stop it the fireball exploded, enveloping first Sirius and then Harry in a burning mantle while the world was slowly coming apart around them. 

I'm not evil. I just get kicks out of leaving people hanging for a couple of weeks. Everyone has fun the way he/she can, right? To my defence I'll only say I'm working on this as fast as I can, and the next chapter will probably come out sooner that this one. 

If you enjoyed this have some decency and leave a review. Every one I get will be an hour of late night stay in front of my computer. 

P.S.- I have been thinking about changing the title. **Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix** isn't bad (it is about the Order of Phoenix, after all), but there are too many stories with that title around here, and I hate it when I can't find my own in that mess. I still don't have any better substitution, so any ideas are welcome! 


	10. The traitor, the foe and the million Gal...

Warning: this is now a PG-13 rating! (Cruciatus and other unpleasanties, but nothing 4th book didn't have.)

A/N: As you can see, I'm changing the title. I'll do it oficially in a week, and I'll repost this chapter in a beta-ed version (sorry about the possible mistakes. My wonderful beta Lin-z has exams, and I felt that after leaving you where I did I had to post as soon as possible). It took longer than I expected, (but yes, Ravenclaw Filly, I did write at night and between my exams as I promised!)

Thanks to all who reviewed and encouraged me, and for the titles you proposed (marykmac: I'm really flattered. I have to admit I was tempted for a while...). I wanted to leave the Phoenix in the title, but it resissted and resisted till I made up something else. The meaning will be clear later. 

I guess I better start to beg for forgiveness right now. You'll know why by the end of the chapter. I am not addicted to cliffhangers, I swear. There are deeper reasons for what I do. Oh well, just remember that a dead author can't finish his work! 

Born from Ashes Chapter X: The traitor, the foe and the million Galleon prize

Harry couldn't see. He couldn't hear. For an instant he feared he couldn't breath. Than suddenly all his senses came back and he felt a rough hand on his shoulder lifting him from the ground. He struggled and kicked against the man holding him but at the end found himself staring at the point of a wand. 

"Harry!" He stopped struggling and turned at the sound of Sirius' voice. Malfoy's two bodyguards were holding his arms behind his back, but he didn't seem to acknowledge them anymore than he acknowledged the wand Malfoy was holding at his throat. "Harry!" Malfoy pressed some more and sparks flew out, forcing Sirius to stand still. 

"I'm okay." Harry answered shakily, not because he felt that way but because he doubted even that threat was able to hold his godfather much longer. Avery prodded Harry with his wand and pushed him closer to where the others were staying, never letting go of his hand. 

"Harry Potter! We didn't expect you here today, what a delightful surprise you decided to join us." Lucius Malfoy turned his attention to Harry and gave him an extremely unpleasant smile. 

"It was all part of my plan!" Avery immediately jumped in. "I knew it was risky to send Snape back to that school, but getting the boy from under Dumbledore's nose was worth a try!" Malfoy's smile disappeared at that eager interruption. Avery didn't seem to notice and continued excitedly: "The Dark Lord must know that it was my work, Lucius. I don't know what kind of influence Snape was under, but it was me who realised it! I figured out how to use it to our advantage! I forced him to reveal Black's hideaway! I persuaded him to bring Harry Potter to me! When the Master hears about it…" 

"And why did Snape contact you in the first place?" Malfoy asked conversationally. Avery shuddered and Harry tried once more to get free. He only succeeded in getting an inmovilising hex placed on him. 

"Because they knew you were weak! They knew you never believed in our cause, and were ready to betray us at the minimal threat. Do you want Voldemort to find that out? He thinks very highly of you already." Avery's hand holding Harry shook even more at the mention of the fearful name. "You will remember your place and keep low when our Lord comes, is that clear?" 

"Good. Than it's time to call our Master. After all, we have a very special company here: a traitor, a foe and a million Galleon prize…" 

Malfoy touched Harry's face with his hand, forcing him to look straight at him. "You have no idea how annoyed he was when you escaped him once, twice, than again this summer." He spat out. "You have absolutely no idea how unwise it is to annoy Lord Voldemort." 

"Keep your dirty hands away from him!" Sirius' eyes held a promise of a long and painful death if he ever got hold of a wand. Malfoy squeezed Harry's chin once more and let him go, turning around to Sirius. 

"I don't know what my master will decide to do with you, but you and I still have something to settle. Crabbe, Goyle, hold him!" 

It was hardly necessary, but the two bodyguards straightened their grip, twisting the prisoner's arms tight behind his back. 

"Somebody has to teach you manners, if only right before you die." Malfoy's hand closed in a fist. "There's nothing I hate more than somebody coming to my party… without invitation." 

The blow threw Sirius brutally backwards, and the two bodyguards let go of his arms, allowing him to stumble on the ground. The synchrony they displayed suggested they had practised that one routine many times. Sirius struggled to get up, receiving another blow in his ribs as he held up the hand to sweep the blood from his face. The third kick he managed to avoid, rolling away and seizing the foot coming down on him. He twisted it, causing Malfoy to loose equilibrium. Instantly, him two inseparable bodyguards appeared once more, pinning him to down until he was forced to kneel in front of Lucius Malfoy. 

"You will beg to die, Black. You will weep with gratitude at being allowed to die. Nobody had ever escaped Lord Voldemort, and nobody had ever died cursing his name." 

"Wrong… three times out of three." Sirius' voice was hoarse with ill contained rage. "The Potters died facing Voldemort, Harry escaped twice, and…" Goyle twisted his arm with the calmness of a professional executioner. Sirius bit his lip to avoid screaming out. 

"Let him go!" Harry struggled with all his forces to break free but suddenly his arms were pulled together by some unknown force and chains closed around his wrists. The same happened with Sirius. 

"Where is the third one?" 

"Here somewhere. I told him to wait." Avery sounded very sure of himself. "Severus Snape! Come here!" 

The figure of the Hogwarts professor came to view and obediently walked in their direction. Malfoy smiled first, but all signs of pleasure disappeared when he noticed the wand in Snape's hand. His worry didn't escape Avery's. 

"He's inoffensive. He'll do whatever we say." 

"Take the wand from him." Malfoy hissed. Avery smiled with superiority. 

"You've got to trust me more, Lucius. Look. Snape! Are the prisoners secured?" 

"Not yet." Snape's pale face turned as white as chalk. He walked toward Sirius, bent down, opened the neck of his tunic and revealed the medallion. Carefully avoiding meeting Sirius' dark gaze, Snape snapped the medallion from his neck and held it to Avery. 

"The way to Hogwarts." He explained expressionlessly. 

"And your wand." He handed the wand over. "Thank you so much." In a second a new pair of restraints closed around Snape's wrists. 

"A priceless picture. I think it's about time we call Lord Voldemort and give him the great news." Lucius Malfoy rolled up the left sleeve of his tunic, revealing the Dark Mark. He extended the arms toward the see and kneeled on the ground. Avery and the rest stepped venemently away from him. Malfoy pointed his wand at his arm and murmured something. Just like in Harry's hallucination the image of the snake coming of the scull started to glow in red. 

_Please, don't let him do it. Let something go wrong, somebody come, anything. Don't let him call his master…_ Painful memories flowed through Harry's head. He had whispered almost the same words once before, and nobody came. Cedric died, Voldemort came to life and the dark had risen. What help did he expect there, on a lifeless island ruled by inhuman monsters? _Let it be another hallucination. _

It wasn't. Apparation didn't give any warning. A tall, deathly thin form of a man appeared soundlessly in front of Lucius Malfoy. He stood up and bowed deeply under the inquiring scrutiny of those piercing red eyes. Stepping aside, Malfoy motioned in Harry's direction. Once again, Harry found himself face to face with Lord Voldemort. 

He forced himself to look directly at the Dark Lord. Every breath he took was suddenly a conscious effort. Help won't come. He thought resolutely. We'll have to get out of this by ourselves. 

"Call up the circle." Malfoy looked at his master in surprise and nervous delight. 

"I, my Lord?" 

"Your service is an example for every Death Eater. I'm very proud of you, Lucius." Voldemort answered never taking his eyes off Harry's face. Harry stubbornly returned his look, as if his life depended on that firmness. Suddenly a hiss among the stones broke his trance and he jerked back at the sight of an enormous snake coming on him. 

"Have patience, Nagini. We will wait for everybody before starting." The disappointed hiss repeated once more and the snake came back and encircled itself around Voldemort's leg. 

It was like a nightmare replaying itself once again. Hooded figures appeared silently in front of Lucius Malfoy. Some bowed before recognizing him, than stepped back with poisonous looks of envy and turned to Voldemort and took their place in the circle. It was complete this time. Where had been empty places before now stood new members. Voldemort stood in the middle, and Harry, Sirius and Snape in front of him, surrounded and helpless. Harry felt chilly looks of curiosity all over him. 

"When I first called you after my long absence from this world I promised you something, my dutiful servants. Now it's time to fulfil those promises. I promised you the death of Harry Potter, and you will witness it today. I promised you the torture and death of our enemies, and today you will participate in it. I promised you that the traitors will pay, and today is time." 

If Harry was getting looks of curiosity, those reserved for Snape held the promise of long and painful torment. Nothing could have persuaded Harry that he had nothing to do with the Death Eaters than the attitude of his former colleagues. 

"Severus Snape! Not only did you fail to return at the call of you master, you have spied against me for a long time before that. Will you bother to deny it?" 

Snape had many unpleasant qualities, but he was no coward. His face was deathly white, but at hearing Voldemort's words some colour returned to it and he lifted his chin in desobeyance. Behind Voldemort's back, Malfoy turned to Avery with a frown. 

"Answer your Master!" Avery ordered. 

"He is not my master." A painful grimace crossed Snape's face, and his body shook violently. The fight against the poison in his body came painstakingly to him. Voldemort's eyes glowed with recognition of his symptoms. 

"You prefer to call that old fool your master, Severus? And that lot of worthless mudblood lovers your friends? Interesting friends they are, poisoning you and than sending you to die… They knew what would happen. They let you take that risk… Nagini is hungry. Feed her, Severus. Take a step forward. Now." 

Snape shuddered with the entire body, fighting the order and failing. Slowly, he stepped forward away from Harry and Sirius. 

"Another step." Again he was forced to obey. Harry didn't realise that he too was trembling. Involuntary, he made a small step forward as if trying to prevent his teacher from advancing. The snake advanced at them, her head at one level with Snape's. 

"Close your eyes, Harry," suddenly Voldemort's voice held a pretension of kindness. "It's a cruel show, you don't need to witness it." 

Entirely against his will Harry found himself closing his eyes. His lids suddenly weighed too much, and he had no strength to keep them open. 

"Another step." Harry didn't need to see Snape obeying the order. He heard the sound of it on the ground, and his imagination filled the rest of the details. 

"Kneel." Another sound. The hissing of expectation grew stronger, and Harry could see snake's head flying forward in his imagination. 

"Out!" Harry's eyes snapped open in time to see Snape throwing himself on the ground. He fell, rolled away and froze there, watching the monster recover after the failed attack, turn around and come after him once again. "Fight her!" Sirius shouted again. Snape stumbled shakily to his feet, ready to evade another attack. 

Voldemort hissed. It was exactly like Nagini's frustrated hiss, and yet Harry understood the words, or the meaning. The snake turned its head at him and hissed disappointed insistence. Voldemort didn't even look at her. His inhuman red eyes were directed at Sirius. 

He came closer to his prisoners and studied Harry's godfather with the interest of a deity that had been defied by the lowest of his servants. The kind of look that normally served to let his servants feel the immensity of their crime and start pleading for mercy. 

Sirius did nothing of that. He returned the stare with a calmness Harry was positive he did not feel. For the first time since they were taken prisoners an unlogical faint hope grew inside him. 

"In my circle you don't speak unless addressed to." Voldemort's voice was frightening in its infinitely patience. Sirius rolled his eyes. Harry felt his heart skip a beat. Of all the wrong things to do in presence of the Dark Lord rolling the eyes at him had to be the worst. And it wasn't all. 

"You have found the perfect torture method. Educational lectures is what I dread more than anything in the world, and that was already the second one…" 

"You think you are not afraid of me, right?" Voldemort's red eyes examined the man in front of him with increasing curiosity. 

"I find it difficult to fear something I despise." Sirius's tone lost all of it pretended joviality. "Somebody whose truest servants are the dirt of the humanity, who wear a mask while killing defenceless people and who considers a fifteen-years-old boy to be his worst enemy." 

Voldemort's face didn't change a bit. "I warned you. You weren't supposed to be the first, but as you seem to insist…" 

He trailed off. Nobody moved, nothing happened, and yet suddenly every expression was gone from Sirius' eyes to be replaced with naked fear. Harry felt the emotion radiate to him. The most terrible was, he didn't understand what had produced such a sudden change. 

"It's difficult to speak when you can't breath, don't you agree?" 

Strangling curses didn't have to be red, green or yellow. They could be invisible, quick, and more terrible than Harry could have ever imagined. Shattered thoughts flew through his horrified mind. Unable to concentrate on any of them the only thing he could do was to watch. 

"Wormtail?" 

A short man stepped out of the faceless circle and hurried to his master, bowing with every step and searching for Voldemort's look with eagerness. 

"Is this the man who was once your friend, Wormtail? The one who told you about the Potters?" 

"Yes, My Lord." Peter Pettigrew bowed once again, this time taking one step back to the circle. He didn't look very happy at suddenly being the centre of Voldemort's attention, or staying so close to his former friend. Wormtail's cowardice had to be inborn; nothing changed now that he had almost unlimited power. 

"The one you were so afraid of?" Continued Voldemort softly. _He's still afraid of him, even now._. Sirius' eyes were clouded with anguish but he still held Voldemort's gaze. His old, daring self was coming back slowly and painfully through the shock of pain, fear, and approaching dizziness. 

"Are you trying to think of the right answer? There are no right answers to my questions, Wormtail. There are only the truthful ones. And you don't need to decide whether to tell me it or not. You simply have no other choice… " 

"Yes, My Lord." 

"A Death Eater makes his enemies fear him, not the other way around, my friend. You still have a lot to learn. Luckily, it's very easy." 

Pettigrew seemingly didn't think that being called "my friend" by Lord Voldemort was a good sign. His hands shook uncontrollably. 

"My Lord…" 

"Take out your wand, Wormtail. You have the power over him. _Use it_." 

Pettigrew tried in vain to suppress the trembling of his hands. When he pointed his wand at Sirius it became even more evident. The two of them looked at one another, and the look Wormtail saw in the eyes of his former friend seemed to scare him even more than Voldemort's words. The only emotion written there was a silent reproach, as if he couldn't believe it was the little Peter pointing his wand directly at his chest. 

_"C-crucio!"_

"No!" 

The scream filled Harry's lungs, but the knot in his throat prevented it from coming out. He had thought before that there was nothing worse than the screams of people tortured by Cruciatus Curse. Now he knew the silence was much worse. Sirius's face was wet and ashen, his eyes shut tight against the agony that could not get worse for it was infinite already. And he wasn't even allowed to hold air to scream. 

"Stop it!" This time the words managed to leave Harry's lips. Voldemort's thin smile sent waves of nausea at him. His long bony arm extended towards him and he fought the urge to step away. 

"But I thought you have understood our previous lecture, Harry. You are not asking politely, and you could achieve soo much if you did. You could get very far, my boy, believe me." 

_"Your could be great, and Slytherin could help you…"_ The memory came unexpectedly to his mind. Was that what Tom Riddle had heard during the Sorting?  
_ What does that matter, Sirius is dying while we speak, you are killing him, please, please stop it…_  
Another memory of another time appeared in front of his eyes, and Professor Lupin looked gravely at him in the middle of the Quidditch field._ "It doesn't matter why he said yes for the first time. Once you start working for Voldemort there is no way back…"_

Harry did the only thing he could. He closed his eyes, and felt the tears he wasn't able to control running down his face. 

Sirius was floating in an agonizing haze of pain and unreality, when the agony becomes so unbearable it simply ceases to exist. He had been bitterly grateful when the Cruciatus Curse hit him. Everything became so ease in that instant. Nothing but pain existed anymore. The paralysing fear of suddenly not able to breath against the wild need to fight, to hide his agony from his torturer and to deny the fear to himself. To remember the dreadful picture of Peter in the middle of the destroyed street over the childhood memories of friendship and loyality that his oxygen deprived mind traitorously offered him. The Cruciatus Curse Pettigrew put on him made everything so much easier. 

"Enough." 

Suddenly everything was over and oxygen was allowed back into Sirius starving lungs. He drew air and was unable to suppress a shaky, anguished moan from leaving his lips. His body refused to obey him and he simply laid there, drawing quick, tortured breaths that mixed with groans of pain that were denied him before. He was vaguely aware of the Death Eaters and their laughter but couldn't bring himself to care. 

_"Force yourself."_ He ordered himself stubbornly. _"Force yourself to care. To stand up. To face them. Think of Harry."_ That one thought was enough to bring Sirius up from the ground and to his knees. Staying up without getting sick seemed an impossible mission. From far away he heard the same cold voice ordering mockingly. 

"You may stand up." 

Sirius looked up into those red unmerciful eyes, and found himself looking into the representation of the infinite and infinitely cruel power that promised the realization of his worst, hidden fears without any reason, just because it could. He found himself drawn into that darkness, afraid for Harry, and afraid for himself because for him Harry was the only one who mattered. 

_"Force... yourself... to... hate..."_ Sirius Black stood up and faced Voldemort. 

"You are not afraid of me." This time it was a statement, not a question. "You are not afraid of dying. You are afraid of living. Of staying alive long enough to see the son of your best friend die. Aren't you? You see, Mr. Black, I have a special talent for sensing people's fears. _Restraindo!_" 

The strength of the curse sent Sirius flying until his body connected with the rocks that surrounded them. Yielding under Voldemort's will the stone behind him closed itself around his wrists and ankles, pinning his arms over his head and his legs to the ground. 

"Harry? I think we have something left to discuss." 

"Let him alone!" Harry knew Sirius would do anything to help him, but he also knew there was nothing he could do. Once again, everything was going to be decided between him and Voldemort. 

"I am really sorry for you, Harry. You were supposed to be the last, and will be the first to die. I was going to start with Severus Snape, but your godfather insisted he had to go first. I could have killed him, but you asked me to stop, if not very politely. Now it's your turn, and I doubt very much my former servant" he turned to Snape with something that could have been a smile, "will be willing to follow your example and volunteer to take your place." 

Voldemort was coming closer and closer to Harry, and his words became lower, until he stood right in front of him and almost whispered in his ear. For a moment he wasn't sure if it were words or snake hiss coming from Voldemort's mouth. 

"You can kill me now, but you promised a duel." Harry made a conscientious effort to speak clearly out, and was reassured at hearing his own words strong and loud. 

"You want to duel? We can do that, of course. But I was thinking we could talk a little first. Why don't you tell me how you got here?" Harry was getting more and more confused with every moment. "How could it have happened that your old and wise Professor Dumbledore sent his favourite pet to spy after me, and didn't notice he was under the effects of some voluntariatum?" 

All of a sudden Harry was acutely aware of Snape on his left, and Voldemort's whisper seemed louder than a thunder.

"You see, I doubt he would have sent one of his people to die. He doesn't have that many. I guess somebody else provided the potion without his knowledge. What do you think, Harry?" 

Harry answered nothing. It was all his fault. He couldn't understand why he didn't realise it sooner. It didn't matter if his presence near Azkaban was a coincidence or a part of Avery's plan. Even if he hadn't come, Snape would still fall in their hands. He would still lead them to Sirius. 

"They can't hear us, Harry, don't worry." The words hit Harry like the worst Cruciatus Curse. _"He knows what I am afraid of."_ Dying wasn't the worst. _"It is all my fault. Everyone kept telling me that Cedric's death wasn't my fault. Sirius and Professor Snape will die only because of me." _

"But maybe we should tell them." Voldemort watched him closely and shook his head. "I know you don't want to, Harry, but think of it. He thinks he is responsible for you." He nodded in direction of Sirius. "It will be painful for him to see you die. If he knows the truth, it will be easier. He may even love you strong enough to forgive you." 

It made sense. Sirius broke out of Azkaban for him. He came back from his hiding to be close to him. He left the safety of the Forbidden Forest to see him play Quidditch. It was only fair to tell him Harry wasn't his responsibility this time. 

Harry searched for Sirius' look, but didn't find it. He was looking down, and his lips were moving, silently repeating the words of an incantation. Hanging low above the ground there was a faint source of light, barely visible in the coming darkness. Unfortunately he wasn't the only one to notice it. 

"Do you really expect to pull this out?" Lucius Malfoy stepped out of the circle and pointed his wand at the prisoner. Sirius didn't acknowledge him in any way, only his whisper became louder. Harry stared as hypnotized at the ground in front of him. The shining became stronger, he was sure of it. Even more, now he could see that it wasn't just a light, but a diagram of thin glowing lines. And he recognized the symbol they represented. 

It was a very antique and primitive form of magic, one that was used the natural forces of the nature and worked with signs that represented the charms. He never would have imagined that a History of Magic would prove useful, or that he actually had learned something in that lesson, but there was the living proof for that. He even recognized the symbol: he had seen it in Hermione's Arithmancy book many times. It was an antique symbol representing the sense of sight. It was glowing stronger and elevating over the ground, there was no doubt at that. Under it a second diagram started to appear. 

_"Ignitus!"_

Malfoy's carefully aimed curse passed an inch away from Sirius' head, burning locks of his hair. The Death Eater watched with pleasure as he jerked away only to be stopped by the restraints. He than frowned as he realised his threat wasn't enough to interrupt the incantation. 

"Oh, well." He muttered furiously. "I am not going to miss again." 

Sirius' voice grew stronger, covering the Malfoy's words as he struggled to maintain the concentration. Malfoy levelled the wand. Harry watched him with infinite hatred and calculated his chances, but he was too far, and Voldemort too near. Unable to help, Harry watched Sirius grip the stone that served to restrain him in anticipation. His voice echoed through the cliffs and the symbols continued to glow stubbornly in the darkness. There were already three of them. 

_"Ignitus!"_

"Leave him!" Malfoy froze at Voldemort's powerful order. "There are not so many enchantments that require the Incantation of the Five Senses. I know of only one that could be useful. Many considered it lost but maybe… The old fool would certainly try to use it… We'll see." 

"If he manages to cast it, which I highly doubt, seeing the way he's doing it." 

Harry's hatred for Malfoy grew, if possibly, yet stronger. So did hope. If only Sirius managed… A wild, irrational hope didn't need but one little push to unleash itself. 

He watched the fourth sign appear from nothing. Lucius Malfoy let out a laugh. "For your information," he started to say but then just smirked. 

The fourth sense didn't work. The incantation extinguished as soon as it joined the first three. The cold feeling in Harry's stomach was back, but what really pained him was Sirius' look of frustration. 

"… the order in which you call the senses in the incantation is a key factor to the success. It's quite a common knowledge." Malfoy's tone was infinitely polite. 

"Thanks." Sirius spat out, and suddenly the symbols started to appear back one by one. The four, that the five of them, in the right order. The lines of the five diagrams interconnected, fitting perfectly to one another. 

Sirius was on the edge of his forces, but the incredulous look on Malfoy's face gave him new strength. He tried to concentrate on the beautiful red of the ready incantation in front of himself, carefully avoiding to think about anything else. 

Harry's heart beat wildly in his chest. It didn't escape him that Malfoy wasn't worried at all, even if he didn't expect his godfather to be able to go so far. None of the Death Eaters seemed concerned. The only reason they allowed him to continue was because they didn't believe he could make it to the end. And with a painful sincerity Harry had to admit he didn't believe it either. The effort to simply maintain the incantation seemed to spend all Sirius' strength. His ashen face was crossed with concentration, sweaty locks of his hair falling over his forehead. Wandlessly practicing advanced magic after going through the Cruciatus Curse was just too much, even for Sirius. 

The only one who gave the impression to believe in Sirius was Snape. For the first time since he stepped on the island of Azkaban something close to emotion appeared on his face. He obviously realised what kind of enchantment Sirius was doing. Harry thought he guessed it long ago. 

_"Fidelius!"_ Sirius closed his eyes to escape the looks of morbid curiosity directed at him. He could not risk opening them to check if the spell had worked. He had spent thirteen year replaying it in his mind, he had to trust his ability. 

_"Venite!"_ The light came through his closed lids, and he was able to feel the force he was holding. He wanted everything to end. He needed everything to end, he wasn't able to keep that power in check any longer. They would never ever come out of there alone. They needed help, and maybe, just maybe he was able to call for it. 

_Incanto Phoenix!"_ All the power he was holding broke free. 

Sirius rested his head against the cool stone and watched as a column of fire grew in front of him, its flames reaching up into the sky and than dissolving in the darkness. A door to enter his body. A way to possess his senses. A call for them to come. He had done it. He had done the Phoenix Enchantment without knowing how it was supposed to work, without being chosen, without a wand. He didn't feel any different. The dark sky didn't offer any answers. He had no idea what was coming next. 

"The Phoenix Enchantment. A powerful ancient magic. You don't need to reproach yourself it didn't work." The meaning of the words pierced Sirius' mind. Voldemort was looking back at him, and this time there was no threat in his voice. He was too tired to notice or to care. _"Didn't work"_ echoed in his head again and again. He saw Harry, small and pale at the side of Voldemort. 

"Contrary to the popular belief I do respect courage, Mr. Black. If all my supporters were miserable cowardly rats like Wormtail I would have never come so far, archived so much. But I cannot allow it to be used against me." 

There was suddenly a wand in Voldemort's hand. Unconscientiously, Sirius hands closed in fists and he struggled against the stone restraints that held him tightly in place. 

"I know to reward the bravery, even that of my enemies. I will allow you to die... quickly." 

Harry jumped forward, trying to get Voldemort's wand from him before it was too late but found himself paralysed by the power of his opponent. He struggled in vain to overcome the curse, it was as if he were prisoner of a stone wall exactly like Sirius was. His and Sirius' looks locked. Voldemort's hand moved up, and a ray of deadly green light surged from its end. 

"Avada Kedavra." 

Sirius' black eyes went for an instant piercingly green, and than he shut them tightly against the blinding light. Already knowing he couldn't avoid it, he tried to break free from the stone hold, and a desperate call fought its way out of his throat. 

"MOONY!" 

The Killing Curse hit its new victim. 

_Just remember I apologised..."_


	11. The flight of the phoenix

A/N: am I evil? No. When I started to write this the only scene I had in my head was that cliffhanger... I am just a weak person. I couldn't resist. Hopefully you are not too angry. I wrote as quick as I could (and the chapter resisted with all its strength to get finished. Actually I am not very pleased with the result.) 

Thanks MelissaIvoryM for offering help and editing this so quickly!

Nobody guessed how the enchantment was supposed to work! (No wonder, I don't think even Dumbledore knew it for sure, and poor Sirius had no clue.) Jedi Cosmos, you noticed!!! Ch. 5, Divination, Harry and Sirius change places... Read and see. 

Born from Ashes

Chapter XI: The flight of the Phoenix 

Instant death. No contracurse, no avoiding it. Harry stared in motionless horror as Avada Kadavra hit Sirius´ chest. His head fell down and his muscles relaxed. Only the chains around his wrists prevented his body from hitting the ground. 

"Moo-ny?" The whisper was so soft it seemed a distant echo of Sirius' previous frantic call. His chest was moving in swallow, quick gasps, but he was breathing. Avada Kedavra promised an instant death. Lord Voldemort had failed for the second time. 

Slowly, Sirius lifted his head. Unfocused eyes looked at Harry through the wet locks of uncombed hair without seeing him. Harry would have been lifeless scared at that look that went right through him if it wasn't for the fact that Sirius' eyes shone with recognition and infinite hope. The impression was so strong he turned around and threw a quick furtive glance at the space behind himself. He could see nothing but sinister shapes of Death Eaters there. 

Sirius, however, could. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face at the sight of the old friend he alone could see. Then all of a sudden the vision was gone and his look changed. The faint smile transformed in a grin as his and Harry's gazes locked. 

Voldemort's hands closed in fists and progressively relaxed. He lowered his wand. All around him faceless servants contemplated the failure of their leader. Behind them, the shadow of the fortress of Azkaban reached to the dark sky with its even darker mass, watching everything with the blind eyes that were its weakly illuminated windows. Nobody moved. Nobody dared to speak. 

"Don't stay there, you idiot! Call up the Order!" Snape's shout broke the silence that reigned over the island, but still nobody dared to move. The fear of their leader paralysed Voldemort's followers. The circle stood frozen under his hammering stare. 

"Do it, damn!" 

Sirius wanted to laugh at his own stupidity. It had been instinct that made him call for Remus the moment he thought would die, and it turned out to be the only right thing to do. The Phoenix Enchantment opened a connection between the members of the Order. It had been ready and waiting for him, and the only thing he had needed to do was to call. 

**"CALL FOR THEM!"** Sirius nodded in acceptation. 

"Severus Snape!" 

Snape nodded back, and let the connection that was opening to him enter his mind. All forces leaving him at once, he only had enough control over his body to prevent himself from falling, carefully lowering himself on the ground instead. 

"Arabella! Gary! Mungi! Professor McGonagall!" 

"Stop him!" 

"Flitwick! Archie!" 

Wormtail's hysteric cry did what Snape could not. The Death Eaters stirred from their paralysis, and hexes started to fly from all the directions. Most of the dark spells hit its target, and none of them caused any damage. There was a faint shining around Sirius, and it got brighter with every name he called. It clung to his skin and enveloped his body, and once in a while flames surged on its surface, licking his clothes, his hair and the stones that held him prisoner without burning them. The flames reached for the spells, enveloped and deactivated them, then disappeared again. 

The Death Eater's circle started to break. Few dared to come closer to their target. Most stepped back and dissolved in the remote shadows that the light of the Phoenix could not yet penetrate. 

"Are you afraid of him?" Voldemort's voice was full disdain. "How many are stupid enough to think they have better chances by leaving their master than by staying by me? Lucius?" 

"Here, my Lord." Malfoy's voice came from far away, but it came after all. Harry had hoped the imposing sight alone would be enough to make the Death Eaters flee for their lives. If the likes of Wormtail and Avery were of any indication, they were nothing more than a bunch of weak, cruel people. Seemingly he was wrong. 

"Good. You will see that it's nothing more than a cover... to hide the impotence that is inside." 

Malfoy stepped closer to his master, and others followed reluctantly. Free from the close scrutiny of the circle Harry made a tentative step back. Nothing stopped him. The only thing he needed was a wand, and he was ready to help if he had an opportunity. 

Not that Sirius seemed to need any. The completed phoenix Enchantment was a powerful and fear-inspiring vision. Even the stones around him were on fire. The mighty flames illuminated everything around him, making it as bright as daylight. 

_"Why is he waiting? I'is a power that surpasses Voldemort's own."_ Wasn't that what McGonagall told him once? Why wasn't he doing anything? 

"A feeble white magic trick." A thin smile curved Voldemort's lips. "The reason it's called the phoenix is, I think, because it allows the weak come in touch with immortality. Something the strong takes at his will. A long time ago I happened to come above a parchment that mentioned a certain book that held the secret of infinite power, an enchantment that required the master to trust his slaves and the slaves to love their master. It was clearly of no use to me, and yet I studied it..." 

"Forgive me, my Lord, but I don't understand." 

"It can give you the illusion, but cannot warrant real power, for the spirit of white magic frowns upon any notion of uncontrollable might. Love and trust are strong forces, but they will never equal the power of the dark." At that Voldemort turned and shouted an incantation. The earth around him shuddered, deep fissures run toward the rocks that still enclosed Sirius's body. The rocks parted and contorted under Voldemort's will, twisting and tearing his limbs apart. 

"And even if they did... Do you have enough strength to guide it, you that never wanted it in the first place, never dreamed of such omnipotence? Do you have enough determination to lead the willpower of your fellow _friends_?" 

Finally, Voldemort's words received an answer. Following the lead of an invisible hand the fire penetrated in the fissures between the stones, covered them in liquid incandescent mantle and annihilated them, melted them down and threw them forward at the Dark Lord, at the Death Eaters, at Harry and Snape. It was as bright as in daylight. Everywhere where the burning stones touched the ground a new fire ignited. Fire that wasn't cold anymore but and burning and merciless. 

"No! Not like that, not all together!" Sirius' voice was covered by the roar. The members of the order had come, but their presence didn't make things easier. There were too many voices around him, too many people he didn't know well, too much magic in his hands that struggled to get free. With Remus alone, everything was easy. Now there was a myriad of bonds that tied him to everyone, each one different and unique, each one requiring infinite trust and understanding, and at the same time inert unless combined with all the others in a final manifestation of the power of Phoenix. Sirius' concentration waved, torn between too many tasks he could not combine. The delicate bonds started to split, and on the outside, the flames of the phoenix darkened and the fire began to die. 

"You will realise that the biggest mistake of your life was to play with powers you cannot control." Voldemort's wand moved, and another curse flew toward Sirius, only to be consumed in the fire that seemed to reborn and straighten at the new menace. 

"Protecting yourself is easy. It's the most basic of all instincts. But can you protect the others?" His wand drew a circle, passing over Harry and pausing at the inert figure lying on the ground. "_Crucio!_" 

Snape's body convulsed. The fire waived with fury and reached toward Voldemort. Harry felt the magical power bathing him, but this time there was no destructive heat coming from those flames. The tongue licked the point of Voldemort's wand and the curse was extinguished. 

Harry was about to shout with glory, but than tongue of fire dissolved in the air, and so did the Phoenix Enchantment, again. Sirius sucked in air and closed his eyes, struggling to maintain his controls in place. 

"I told you so." Voldemort said condescendingly. "Do you want another try? _Crucio!_" 

Harry didn't see it coming. Voldemort didn't attack Snape for the second time. He attacked him. The pain was familiar, but it didn't do it a bit more bearable that before. He drowned in an ocean of fire that was inside him, shouting helplessly as the pain that came from within burned his muscles, his nerves and his veins and yet didn't leave any mark on his skin. And suddenly it was gone, replaced with a cool soothing shower of fresh water that bathed his body. 

"Did it hurt, Harry? He wanted to help you, but he came late. Had it been another curse, it could have been too late." 

Harry would rather continue to suffer than tell Voldemort how much it hurt. He struggled silently to his feet. 

"Do you think he can save you from this? I will tell you something, Harry. I have seen many people trying to stand up to me. I always know when they are about to break. It's in their eyes. They know they have given everything they could, have fought bravely, and yet are going to loose. Do you know what look they have? The same one he has right now." 

"You are lying!" 

"Am I? We'll see. Avada Kedavra!" 

**"No, HARRY NO!" **

Two lights roared through the air. One deadly green, another made of golden fire. Both directed right to Harry's chest. 

And the only thing Harry could do was to watch. He didn't know what he expected. Maybe death. Maybe the touch of the unconsciousness similar to Snape's after he was summoned by the call of the Phoenix. Maybe nothing at all. The golden ray stuck him first. The green continued its travel through the air, but suddenly something crossed its path. Something that wasn't there just a moment ago. A big, round mirror appeared from nothing between Voldemort and Harry, and was instantly destroyed in million pieces by the touch of the Avada Kedavra. 

To Harry it seemed like the world had stopped around him. 

_ "Why a mirror?"  
"Why not? It makes a good shield."  
"Nice piece of Materialisation."_

Bizarre thoughts invaded Harry's mind, and the most bizarre of all was that none of those thoughts was his own. 

_"Harry?!"  
"What is Harry doing here? Sirius, what's wrong?" _

The voices came from inside his head. First came the realisation that he knew some of them. Than he saw them. He didn't need to look around himself. They weren't there. To see the Order, he had to look inside himself. 

He saw a room that was already familiar, and people staying along its walls. It was like a reflex of the Bonding ceremony. Again, the Book of Phoenix stood in flames in the centre of the room, and Sirius stood in front of it, wearing a pair of muggle jeans and a T-shirt exactly like he did in than. His hands rested on the pages of the book. 

It was like looking inside a Pensive, except that it wasn't one. There were differences. Dumbledore was nowhere to be seen, and Snape's expression was solemn, very different from the convulsion of hatred Harry remembered from the "incident" between the professor and his godfather. 

Thin golden strings of light extended from each member to the centre. Every one was different, much fainter that the fire itself and yet infinitely more beautiful. Under Sirius' hands they arranged in a complicated pattern and formed the faint mantle that bathed his skin. Harry looked down at his feet and saw the same soft mantle enveloping him. The ray that got him before Voldemort´s curse did hung motionless in the air, connecting him to Sirius. 

"Where are we?" He looked like hypnotised the magical connection they shared. 

"I don't think he can hear you." Professor McGonagall smiled sadly at him from the multitude of faces. "The power of Phoenix isn't his anymore. It's yours, Harry. You have to use it now." 

In awe Harry watched the magical bonds reach from everyone to Sirius, and through Sirius to him. 

"It can't be. I am not one of you. I don't belong to the Order." 

"It's done already. Now you have to get back. Don't be afraid. We will help you." 

The vision was gone before Harry could say anything else. He found himself back where he was, and a pair of merciless red eyes greeted him. 

_"We will help you."_ Countless curses, countercurses, defence techniques and countless other information flew through Harry's head. There was no doubt about his capacity in his mind. He knew exactly what he had to do and how he could do it. 

_"Nihilo!"_ Enormous ball of fire, incomparable to that of Lucius Malfoy came out of his outstretched bare hand. The mass of Death Eaters around Voldemort dispersed in fear. His supporters were fleeing, leaving their master in the face of a power bigger than the Dark Lord's own. There was no fighting back, and Harry had no doubt at his –Phoenix's- ability to protect him. 

Harry felt no fear staying in front of Voldemort. The duel that had started at the graveyard a long time ago had to be finished. He looked carefully inside himself for the right move and suddenly it was there, so simple and yet so terrifying he paused and listened while the unforgivable words made their way to the surface of his conscience. 

_ "Avada Kedavra."_

More that one voice pronounced the words. More than one person Harry knew confirmed the verdict. It was a war, a war that has been going on for many years, and at the war, people killed people. He knew he shouldn't be surprised. He could see it in their minds. Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, the lovely Arabella Figg, Remus… Images, feelings, memories of hard, devastating training, of deadly green lights assaulted his senses. 

He didn't want to know about it. He didn't want to see the minds of others to that point, and a part of him wondered if the fact that he was indeed hearing it meant that Sirius too agreed with the verdict, and if he too had deep hidden memories of the taste of the cruel words. He was glad he didn't know the answer. 

Voldemort's figure rose in front of him, and suddenly cold fear touched his insides. One and only thought was in his head. _"Why not?"_

_"Do it, Harry. Finish it, once and for always. You have the power that overcomes his. Do it."_

The voices overwhelmed him, and Harry tried to block their influence without knowing if he had the power or the right to do it. He wasn't the Phoenix. He hadn't been chosen, and the members didn't come at his call. The only reason he possessed its power was because Sirius conceded it to him. The only reason he did so was to save Harry's life. What right did he have to fight the decision of the Order? 

_"I can't."_

_"You have to decide quickly, Harry. Sirius won't keep the enchantment much longer."_ Harry guessed more that heard the worry behind Remus' words. He lifted his hand. 

_**"FINITE MAGI!"**_

_(The curse that takes away the magical power of the opponent. Extremely powerful and one of the most feared since its discovery in 1749… …until the present time no successful cure has been developed…)_

Harry didn't care where the knowledge came from. The curse surged from the palm of his hand. A voice shouted "Disapparate", a figure wrapped itself in the pleats of the cloak and the curse pierced the space where Voldemort he had been a moment ago. It was empty. Like his servants before him, the Dark Lord had fled from the island. 

Harry stared at the desolate and suddenly silent space around him. He couldn't believe that suddenly, from one moment to another, everything was over. The after-effects of the battle were clear on the shattered stones and melted rocks. The wind was slowly dissipating the clouds of smoke. 

"Sirius? Professor Snape?" 

None of the two answered his call. Another voice, half singing, half talking, reached his ears. He listened, and it carried him back to the secret room, in the safety of Hogwarts. 

This time Harry knew for sure that it wasn't an image of his past. The enchantment was falling apart. He saw Sirius sway and drop on the floor beside the pedestal. The golden strings broke as his hands let go of the pages of the book, and the people surrounding him disappeared one by one. A soft shining that enveloped his body was all that still remained of the Phoenix Enchantment. 

In front of Harry's eyes that weak gleam turned blindingly bright and separated from Sirius' body. Through nearly closed lids Harry watched as two enormous flames shot out of it and became wings. The shape elongated, giving form to the body and head of a colossal bird that flew up to the ceiling. The heat became almost unbearable, for the fire wasn't cool and inoffensive anymore but burning and completely real. 

"Sirius!" 

The firebird hovered right above the unconscious man. Him. Harry tried to get to his godfather, but found that he couldn't move more than a step from his position. Like a piece in an enormous game of chess, he was confined to the place he had occupied during the Bonding. 

"Sirius!" They had to get out of there. 

"My fire burns everyone who touches it unprepared, and my light blinds the eyes of those who dare to look directly at my true face." In spite of the terrible meaning it was the most beautiful voice Harry had ever heard. It was the phoenix's song put into words, pouring on him like a cool waterfall under the deadly heat of the firebird. "Many powerful wizards have paid with their lives for the insolence of facing me unprepared, but your friend will not. He had invoked my presence not out of arrogance, but as the last sanctuary." 

"What are you?" A knot formed in Harry's throat and the words came out with great difficulty. The head and light was almost impossible to stand, and yet he couldn't take his eyes from the apparition. 

"The one among many gives me birth, and the members of my order feed my flames. I have lived thousands of lives and died thousands of death, and will continue to do so as long as the Order of Phoenix is remembered among your people." 

Harry felt compelled to answer something to that solemn speech, but the only thing that occurred to him was another question. 

"You _are_ the Phoenix Enchantment. How come you weren't there before?" 

"The Order invokes the presence of my spirit in this world, but I exist beyond their magic. I am free to decide who is worth to be the witness of my power, and in which form I appear to him." 

Harry wasn't sure he understood it any better. 

"I appear to you now because I wanted you to remember _you did the right choice_. My essence is white. My magic can't be used to extinguish a life. You don't belong here, young Harry Potter. Many things you saw will remain mysteries for you, and many you will forget before you leave this room. But that, you must remember." 

Harry nodded. 

"More that nine hundred years have passed since my last birth. My existence was almost forgotten. The same one who brought me to life will have his doubts. Here is something that will lead him to believe in me… and in himself. Tell him I will be waiting for him." 

"I will." 

Harry tried with all his forces to keep his eyes open, but the light pierced them with cutting pain and tears streamed down his cheeks. His lids screamed at him to give up. He did, and the vision began to shatter around him. He saw a dark something appearing under the Phoenix's wings and glide onto the pages of the book. The voice was still talking and he knew it had to be important, but his mind refused to understand the meaning. The shining became weaker, or Harry's eyes were simply too tired to keep registering the blinding light. The Book of Phoenix closed. Harry felt himself falling down to the ground and instead of the smooth floor his hands met cold gravel. 

Again, he was back on the island of Azkaban. He looked wildly around himself, trying to see anything in the thick darkness. 

"_Lumos._" 

The light illuminated the long fingers and crooked nose of Professor Snape and threw dim beams on the ground. 

"Nice work, Potter." Snape could have meant it to be sarcastic or not, Harry didn't know. "You are going directly back to Hogwarts as soon as I manage to summon an apparation portal." 

Sirius was lying unconscious, surrounded by the remains of what was a solid rock before, now transformed in a pile of shattered ruins. Harry run to his side, pausing only to bend down and pick up the object he almost crushed in the dark. It was his wand. 

"He goes first." 

"My priorities are to take care of Hogwarts students, not convicted criminals. And being the great Harry Potter is one more reason you will not spend a second more that necessary without proper protection." 

Snape was finally back to his old, hateful self, ready to contradict everything he said just for the pleasure of it. Harry was sure he cared about his well being as little as he cared about Sirius'. 

"He goes..." 

"You take care of our Phoenix, Severus. I'll take Harry home." 

Harry swung around. Dumbledore approached them, conjuring some torches and two stretchers as he went. 

The authority in his voice didn't leave any space for Snape to argue. Muttering something about it being nothing he bent over Sirius, tore the already tattered neck of his tunic and started to move his wand over his chest. Harry made a move to touch his hand, but abruptly decided against that childish demonstration of affection under Snape's sneering gaze. 

"Time to rest, Harry." Before he could turn around he felt an Obliviation curse touching his back. It was a vain pretension to fight Dumbledore's magic. Harry slid on the stretcher and closed his eyes. 

A/N: well, how was that? Tell me what you think about my overexcited imagination. And this is NOT the end. Everyone still has to figure out what exactly had happened... 

P.S. I told you before, I am not a monster (but I forgive you for not remembering an old A/N. I wouldn't.). I don't kill people off, and Sirius and Remus never!!


	12. Answers

A/N: Well, well, well. Never again will I say "a couple of days". Never. It's not all my fault. FFN was down, Internet on my computer was down before and after that, I myself was down (morally). It took me much longer then I thought, and this is a monster chapter but I didn't want to part it in two. And I want to thank everyone who reviewed my last chapter. I was depressed and tired and wasn't sure I could finish this. On top of all I didn't get many reviews, but they were the best ever! You helped me to reborn from ashes…

Here are the special thanks:  
Soul dragon; Jedi Cosmos (I have no words. It means a lot to me that somebody likes what I write, and if I make one person happy I feel immensely rewarded); vmr; Ravenclaw_Filly; Dumbledore's True Love (I completely agree: a fic where Sirius dies doesn't deserve to be on the favorites list); larissa; Dizmius Artistius; Lord of the Net; marikmac (you praise so well… I wanted to write the whole year but have to leave it at Christmas. Better short (not so short) and interesting then long and boring, right?); Jack Knife; Caitlin Black (nobody is dead, and I hope this chapter explains the most of the confusion); Lucky Woods; ladybugg2886; Cassidy Rai 

I forgot to mention it a long time before, but the people who helped me to figure out what kind of wand Sirius has were Sara (a hair from centaur tail - something to do with stars), Lin-z and Aria (ebony, because it's black) 

Sorry, Lin-z, I wanted to finish this at last. Couldn't wait for the beta-ed version. The rest of you just have to bear with me once more. 

Born from ashes Chapter XII: Answers

The senses came back progressively, and Harry accepted them as they awoke. He was in the infirmary. There was simply no other place he could be after what happened. At first there was a feeling of uneasiness, but before he could remember why another sense woke up and he became aware of two low voices talking to one another. Some time passed before he progressed from simply hearing the sounds to actually understanding them. 

"Are you trying to make a list of everything that went wrong, Sirius?" There was a soft reproach in the way the voice sounded. Harry could see Dumbledore's smile through his closed lids. The answer came in completely opposite, tense and sharp manner. 

"Here is a list of positive things if you want. Harry wasn't hurt. Point. If you can think of anything else you are welcome to contribute. I can't." 

"You seem to forget the most important of all. The enchantment..." 

"That goddamned enchantment was the wrongest thing of all! It could have killed all of us, and specially him!" The shout echoed through Harry's mind and he frowned. 

"He seemed to control it just fine." 

"He is James' son. What else did you expect from him?" There was open pride coming through the tiredness and frustration. Harry wondered if he should do something and open his eyes. Sirius' voice suggested that there was something terribly wrong, even if Dumbledore's sounded as if he were announcing the Christmas ball. 

"What else did you expect from yourself, Sirius? How much of the book did you read?" 

"Half the way through the invocation. I skipped most of the stuff about the Order and the mythology nonsense. It was Halloween and I was stuck waiting for you and than Harry appeared and I had to talk some sense in him. He was looking for the book himself." 

"Did you succeed?" 

_"In a way,_" thought Harry. _"I forgot about the Order and concentrated on Snape. Which brought me back to the Order. Maybe it was predestined that way."_

"I know I'm no good taking care of Harry. No need to repeat it over and over." Sirius snapped in response, mistaking the irony of Dumbledore's question for an accusation. 

"His parents seemed to have another opinion on your parenting abilities." Dumbledore mused softly. "Back to the Phoenix." 

"The Phoenix, right. There was no Phoenix." 

"What was there, then?" Harry vividly imagined Dumbledore's twinkling eyes behind the moon- shaped glasses. He sounded a lot like a teacher formulating a tricky question to his favourite student. 

"I don't know." Sirius replied, stubborn. "You didn't want to hear a list of all the things that went wrong. I won't count them. Enough to say it was about everything. It could have been some mix of Fidelius and a Summoning. Moo... Remus was there, but I have known him for ages, could probably summon his presence easily enough. After that... it was too confusing to have been successful." 

Dumbledore gave no answer. After a charged silence Harry heard a screech of the neighbour bed and knew it was Sirius who shifted uncomfortably away from the piercing stare of the Hogwarts headmaster. 

"The Ministry isn't likely to believe my report about Death Eater's activity in Azkaban without Avery's testimony, right?" He changed the subject. 

"They won't hear of any of it, I'm afraid. The faint possibility of Fudge getting reasonable this time isn't worth the risk you would be taking." 

"And the risk the Order takes of being associated with me." Sirius continued matter-of-factly. 

Harry's mind was already full awake, and he was wondering if he should give some signs of life and admit to involuntary eavesdropping or lay still and continue to listen. Dumbledore gave an infinitely patient sigh. 

"Believe me, I will not discuss this matter with you, no matter how much you provoke me." After another silence he continued. "You need medical attention." 

"What I need is a twenty-four-hour long bath and clean clothes." 

"I won't deny that," Dumbledore returned, "but a visit to Poppy is not negotiable. Of all the members of the Order you are the one who need it most and the only who didn't get it yet." 

"When Harry awakes." 

"I am awake." Harry marvelled at how easily the words came when he didn't try to get them out. His eyes opened, and Sirius' disappointed look greeted him. 

"I thought you would be by now, but did you have to announce it right now?" Harry ignored the joke and sat up. There were so many things that had to be said. He didn't know where to start. Sirius looked back at him with unreadable expression. The frown didn't last long, but the smile that replaced it never quite reached his eyes. The silence was starting to be awkward. 

"You promised." Dumbledore's voice was patient, and leaving no doubt he expected this patience to be respected. 

"I'll be back in no time." Sirius stood up and headed to the door, showing with his whole attitude it was the last thing he wanted to be doing. "I am sick and tired of approaching people only to listen to them scream their heads off at my sight." He muttered quietly enough not to seem impolite, but still making sure Dumbledore heard. 

"The whole third floor is now forbidden to students who didn't go home for Christmas. And Poppy won't scream, she knows your story." 

Sirius signed. "She will. She said she would if she ever saw any of us again," he returned without turning his head. 

The door closed soundlessly behind him. Harry expected Dumbledore to follow, but the headmaster went to take Sirius' place on the bed next to Harry. Something in the way he watched him told Harry the conversation that awaited wasn't going to be pleasant. 

"Your godfather had offered me at least ten good reasons why I shouldn't be talking about this right now. I respect his opinion in everything concerning your well-being, and he is, following the will of your parents, your legal guardian." 

Harry was waiting for a but, and he didn't wait long. 

"As for myself, I have only one reason for wanting to explore this subject, and it is up to you to decide if it's important enough. The good name of one man..." 

"Professor Snape was under the effects of voluntariatum when he went to that meeting. I gave it to him." The words came out very quickly. Lying to Dumbledore never occurred to Harry. 

"I thought so." He nodded. "Your birthday present, am I right?" His moon-like glasses watched Harry gravely and he wondered –again- how much the man in front of him knew. "It was all my fault. I am sorry." He added in a whisper. No words could express the way he felt. Did Sirius know already? He told Dumbledore about the birthday present… Did Snape know? 

"It's not me you should be asking for forgiveness. As for the first one… It was a concurrence of many circumstances. It was Sirius' irresponsibility, giving you tools that overcome your knowledge and your good sense. Severus' for pressing you to extreme measures. Mine for failing to notice his call for help. And you fault, too, and I hope you realise yourself how stupid and careless your actions were." 

Harry nodded. Something in Dumbledore's words made him remember one detail of his talk with Snape. He dismissed the idea at first, but felt compelled to share it. 

"Professor Snape didn't force me to come with him. I asked to come along." 

Again Dumbledore nodded, not surprised at all. Harry thought about Professor Snape's bizarre behaviour in his office and his struggle to resist the orders later on the island and tried to put it in words. 

"It looked more like he was under the Imperius Curse." 

Dumbledore shook his head. 

"The odds of German Avery putting Severus Snape under the Imperius Curse are small, but even then he couldn't have controlled him here at Hogwarts. Unless he was already under some influence, that would have made him more vulnerable." 

Harry had the uncomfortable impression that Dumbledore was thinking he tried to get from his responsibility and opened his mouth, but the headmaster continued thoughtfully. 

"He found himself unable to ignore direct orders. Avery forced him to reveal Sirius' hideout and bring you there. He wasn't able to avoid the first, but tried to sidestep the second. He wanted to make me forbid him the deal and got my approbation instead. But even than he wasn't able to take you against your will. How he managed to persuade you to come, I don't know." 

"He said something about Sirius. He made it sound like he wasn't doing very well." Now that Harry remembered it, it seemed to be the oldest trick of the world. Weren't all children told never to trust strangers claiming that mum or dad were ill and offered to take them to the hospital? 

"Like I said before, it doesn't sound like an Imperius curse, or like voluntariatum even in high doses. You didn't happen to mix it with Wena-wine by any chance?" Harry only shrugged the shoulders. "It could have been something Avery did… We'll never know. Any after-effects were erased by the Phoenix enchantment. But we are talking too much. You should go to sleep now." 

Harry stared at him in surprise. He had just waken up, and felt perfectly well. Physically, at least. 

"I had to stun you because nobody was able to predict the consequences of being exposed to the enchantment. I am happy to see there were none. But Obliviation doesn't replace sleep, and it's around five o'clock in the morning." 

As soon as he heard that, Harry's eyes started to itch and his mouth opened it a big traitorous yawn. If Sirius didn't come soon he would have no other option than to sleep. He tried to avoid being left alone with his depressing thoughts by asking another question. 

"What exactly was Sirius doing in Azkaban?" 

"Much more then was expected from him, but still not enough. He saw people being brought there. Probably muggles, as a disappearance of a wizard wouldn't pass unnoticed. All of them were administered the kiss and taken away. He couldn't do anything to stop them. Avery was in charge of the operation. His confession would have been the ultimate proof of Voldemort's return, and the betrayal of the dementors." 

"Administered the kiss? Why?" 

"Human blood and human flesh are very common ingredients of dark powers, and ironically it doesn't matter if the victim is a muggle or a wizard. Those people became incubators, providers of fresh ingredients for terrible crimes after they provided food for the dementors. Some of Voldemort's strongest supporters were left free in exchange for the extra … meal." 

Harry shuddered at the image of a hooded figure cutting slices of meat from a still living body. "Now, Harry, you really have to sleep. We have another meeting tomorrow… today, actually, and your presence is essential." 

"Why did you want me in the meeting? Not this, the first one?" It came out casually. Had Harry had time to think, or had he known what the answer would be he would have never asked. 

"Believe it or not, I wanted to keep you away from any trouble. I thought if you knew of our plans you would feel less inclined to make something… radical… yourself. Obviously, I was wrong." Something must have shown on Harry's face, because Dumbldore smiled. It made him look like a good affable uncle. "What did you think it was?" 

Harry wasn't specially inclined to explain that he thought he was supposed to lead the Order after it was made so clear he didn't have a remote connection to it. 

"My wand has a phoenix feather in it," he ended up mumbling and felt more stupid then he had in all his life. 

"I guess it explains it. Sirius gave you that idea?" Dumbledore asked kindly. 

"No. I heard him talking to Remus. They didn't want me to hear... Explains what?" Harry momentary forgot his embarrassment. 

"He must have really believed it. The way he transferred his power to you… There is no description of anything similar in the book. He feared he couldn't do it himself… If he thought you were the right one, subconsciously…" 

"But I am not." 

"It hardly matters now, Harry. Like it hardly matters the kind of wand you use. The wand-makers make a fuss over it, and it's also true in a way. But the same wand can produce wonderful miracles and terrible crimes; you should know it better then anyone. You wand is only a continuation of what's inside you." 

"Right." Harry answered and didn't ask more questions. 

The lights in the room went off. He closed the eyes, sure he could not sleep after all that happened. He was wrong. 

When he woke up nest morning he was still alone in the big room. Madam Pomfrey appeared shortly to take a good look at his face and announce that he was free, and he wandered out of the infirmary looking for any familiar face. The first place he found was the bathroom, and the first person he met was Sirius coming out. His black hair was still wet and neatly combed, and his clothes impeccably clean. 

It was evident that Sirius knew what was good for him. Never before had Harry seen his godfather so good-looking. He studied the cloak he wore with suspicion. It fitted well and suited him, but if Harry knew Sirius at all the strict cut and the high collar weren't exactly his stile. He avoided thinking who the only member of Hogwarts stuff with the same size, complexity and age as his godfather was. After all, Snape never appeared with freshly washed hair, or with a faint smell of bath foam around him. Harry sniffed the air before catching Sirius's ironic grin. 

"Slept well?" he asked. Harry nodded. In spite of the smile there was an aura of pure exhaustion around Sirius. All the things left unsaid the night before came to Harry's mind, but he found the intimate silence and his godfather's heavy hand on his shoulder too comforting to bring up the subject. This time it was Remus who interrupted their silence. 

"Nice to see you are having fun when everyone is waiting.. You think only because you're celebrities everything is allowed?" Sirius groaned and took his arm from Harry's shoulder. 

"First Dumbledore and now you?" 

"I what?" 

"Can't live without a hero? I wish everyone would drop talking about how great the enchantment was." 

"What's wrong with it?" 

"Do you know what preparatory spells it uses?" 

"The Fidelius Charm and some others." Lupin answered without blinking. Sirius shot him a quick glance. "Dumbledore told me," he elaborated further. 

"And what other priceless knowledge did he share with you?" 

Remus looked good-naturally at his friend, not noticing or choosing to ignore the biting edge in his voice. "That it's probably the reason you are insisting point-blank on denying everything that happened." He kept a carefully straight face. 

"And what happened?" Sirius suddenly turned around to point accusingly at him. "You weren't there! He wasn't there! He has no idea what happened! I tried…" he choked on his words, "I tried as much as I could but I couldn't control it… So I threw it at Harry… It's a miracle we're all alive, okay? It's a bloody miracle, and not something I did. Stop talking about things you don't understand." 

"I was there." Lupin stated so calmly it seemed intended to upset Sirius even more. Harry frowned. He didn't understand the reason but supposed that Remus did, and that the Fidelius charm had indeed something to do with everything. That Sirius was simply feeling guilty for not being able to protect him yet again and not conjuring a perfect charm at his first try wandless and after being tortured simply didn't occur to him. 

"I was reading the Prophet back at my place when I heard you screaming my name. I didn't even have time to stand up and suddenly I was at Hogwarts, and you too, and you were staring at me like you saw a ghost and looking very relieved all the same. Then you... I think you went back to the real world for an instant, and than came back and called for Snape. I guess I should feel flattered you chose me before him." Sirius didn't return his smile. "I know it's hard on you, I know you didn't want it, but now it's done. And it's not only your choice anymore." Even as Remus was talking Sirius closed his eyes and shook his head. 

"You are wrong. It's my choice, and only mine. And I can't do it. I don't want to… It's about the Fidelius too, but not only. I don't want another of my decisions go wrong. I couldn't stand it. I've had enough for my whole life." 

"James and Lily are dead, Sirius, dead! You can't spend the rest of you life dwelling on something that happened fourteen years ago!" Harry looked at Remus in amazement, not because he normally avoided the topic of Harry's parents in front of him, but because the stale notes in his voice were so unlike the kind and patient teacher he knew. "You couldn't stand making a mistake? What about the lives you could save by making the right choice? You aren't doing anyone a favour, you're just hiding away! If living in a hole and drowning yourself in misery is what you want, suit yourself!" 

Sirius' eyes shone with something Harry wasn't sure he wanted to put a name to. His hands closed in fists and he made a step toward Lupin. For a moment Harry truly believed he would hit him, but he stopped an inch away from his chest. 

"You want me to move on? You want me to forget something that happened fourteen years ago? Do you know what I did during the first twelve?" 

Remus' eyes travelled down to the white knuckles of Sirius' fists and back to his face. He didn't back off. 

"Do you know what it's like, to replay that conversation over, and over, and over, every minute of every hour of every month…" 

"Stop it." 

"Of every year?? When I was lucky I didn't understand its meaning anymore. Do you know what high security means? It's their feeding place. They can come when they want, and they lean on the door to get closer, and you crawl in your corner and try to make the distance five steps instead of four and a half. But then you have to come to the door because you have to get the food and you build up courage for hours and wonder why you have to do it and why you're trying to stay alive when you pray to die every time you get there." 

"Stop it!" 

"Do you know what happened when I got to the door? I could smell the coffee Lily made that day. I could see Harry crawling on the floor. I could hear James saying… He said "sure thing, Padfoot," and it was funny because I was always so close to loosing it at that point but I always knew what those three words meant, and I sometimes crawled to that door just because I wanted to remember…" 

He suddenly froze. His hands slowly relaxed. He turned around and stormed away from them without looking back. Remus' face was snow-white and completely deprived of expression. He managed a couple of steps down the corridor before catching Harry's shocked look. Then he leaned on the wall and covered his face with his hands. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "He makes it so easy to forget sometimes. And there's nothing I want more, and I fall for it. I know it was cruel, but I… I couldn't think of anything else. He was the one who used to brighten up everyone's day. I miss him so much." 

Harry didn't find anything to reply. He was depressed by Sirius' words and by the sight of two friends deliberately trying to hurt each other. The descent into darkness Sirius described wasn't made lighter by the fact every word of it was aimed at hurting Remus. Everything he said had been true, and it was only a tiny piece of the deepest nightmares he alone knew. Remus was right: he did make it easy to forget sometimes, and even more for Harry. Part of it was a deliberate effort to hide his worries, and part the simple fact that Harry, hadn't known his godfather before Azkaban, tended to compare Sirius' image to his first impression of him. Compared to that everything was a huge improvement, and it never occurred to him that even a healthy, clean and recovered Sirius was only a shadow of the daredevil and always smiling boy who used to be. 

He looked along the corridor Sirius had disappeared into. Remus guessed his thoughts and touched his shoulder. 

"Leave him. He's probably lamenting having said too much already. He'll be back and feeling sorry for getting you into all this in no time." 

Harry followed Remus silently, walking the already familiar path to Dumledore's office. The closer they got, the clearer it became that he had another pressing problem. There were parts in the last day adventure that only he knew. The problem was, he seemed to not being able to remember them. And he couldn't remember forgetting about it. When he woke up everything made sense, but somehow that knowledge dissolved in the brightness of the day much like dreams do after you leave the bed. The only thing he had was a memory of a memory. Something about fire and heat and incredible power all around him. 

The room was full of people. Smiling faces surrounded him, asking questions, exchanging opinions, saying how great and brave he had been. Harry looked around and saw Severus Snape, staying slightly apart from everyone else. His heart skipped a beat. Reluctantly, but knowing that nothing else would go he walked over to his teacher. Snape noticed him, but pretended to ignore Harry until they stood looking directly at each other. 

"The voluntariatum in your wine was my work. I'm sorry. It was supposed to be a joke, I never intended for this to happen." Snape continued to stare above Harry's shoulder, and Harry wasn't sure if he expected something more, or whether he saw him at all. He licked his lips, realising he wasn't going to receive an answer. Well, he didn't really expect one. 

"You could at least answer something." One glimpse to his left confirmed the words came from Remus. "He's not saying it because it's the noble thing to do, or because he's supposed to, or because he's a Gryffindor. He's truly sorry. Surely that counts for something?" 

Snape's eyes travelled wordlessly from Harry to Lupin. "What do you know about being sorry?" he spat out. 

"Everything. And if it's our school encounter you mean I'd have apologised to you many times over had I believed you would take it for what it was and not for another twisted joke..." Again, Snape said nothing. Remus signed and turned back. Snape's face twitched suddenly. 

"Forget it, Potter." Harry looked up in surprise, but it was clear it was about all he would hear, so he walked over to Remus. 

He was relieved to see Sirius was also there. "Feeling sorry about something you did to Snape is a loss of time and energy. Believe me, I know," he whispered to Harry. Remus shot him a reproachful look, then seemed to remember his friend's previous outburst and changed it into a reassuring smile. Sirius hesitated a little, but finally returned it. "And what do _you_ have to ask him forgiveness for? Being born? Everything that had happened was my fault. For a change." He signed. 

"Are _you_ going to apologise?" 

Sirius' reply, or the lack of it was covered by Dumbledore's words describing the events of the previous day. Harry absently marvelled at how he was still the driving force behind the order. Everyone already knew the most of the story, but they listened to his words with deep attention. Harry wished he could do the same. His mind was presenting him with hundreds of broken images and memories that he couldn't place. His gaze fell on the closed book in the centre. Between its pages was something. Something that hadn't been there before. Images of the book closing flipped through his mind but brought no explanation. 

"There's something inside," he pointed out. Dumbledore went quiet. Every head turned from him to Harry, than to the book. Dumbledore who took a step forward and opened it. Laying inside was the Porkey. 

"Malfoy had it..." Sirius started to say but stopped. 

The Portkey wasn't the only object that came out of the book. Dumbledore laid the medallion aside and picked up something else. It was a wand. 

Everyone's hands reached automatically in their pockets, and Harry was no exception. He had managed to find his wand in the darkness in the island, now was pleased to find it in the pocket it was supposed to be.

Nobody claimed it. Finally Gary Ollivander, the nephew of the wand maker, stepped forward and took the mysterious wand from Dumbledore. "An enigmatic design. Eleven inches, ebony, a hair from centaur's tail - very uncommon combination. Certainly not one of our creations," he said with authority. 

Lupin's hand trembled slightly. Sirius didn't move, but something in his posture changed imperceptibly. 

The young Ollivander waived it but nothing came out. He waived it again with the same result. At his third try Remus stepped out and took it from him. It wasn't clear what he expected to accomplish. He didn't try any spells; the wand laid inert on his open palm. He stroked it with the fingers, and his face acquired a very strange expression. When he looked up, it was Sirius whom he searched with his eyes. 

"Padfoot." He held it out. 

Sirius took it hesitantly, and his fingers caressed its surface exactly like Lupin's did, except that his hand shook and his breathing became quick and uneven. "It's my wand. The one they took when they arrested me." His voice broke. 

"How did it get here? A summoning?" Sirius stared back at the man who said it with utter confusion. 

"It was broken." He offered darkly. 

"It's completely impossible... How sure you are it was destroyed?" 

"I'll sooner believe in the possibility of Materializing a wand out of nothing then in Mad-eye Moody failing to finish the job he started," Sirius returned. He lifted the piece of wood, trying it out. "It's mine." 

As if with those words the impossible became true and the wand finally recognized its owner a shower of fireworks exploded from the point of the wand. 

"Watch it!" shouted Arabella to no avail. The wand was shaking uncontrollably in Sirius' hand. First the pedestal, then the walls and the floor of the room began to shake as well. In the distance a series of explosions announced the end of windows, bottles and glasses. Sirius was the last one to expect this reaction; he held the wand as tightly as possibly and away from his body until the little earthquake was over. 

"It's got to be a joke, right?" Arabella said hopefully, and silence filled the room when Sirius solemnly shook his head. She breathed. "Then whoever did this was either very brave or very stupid. Having you back was exciting enough, but Sirius Black with a wand..." 

Some people laughed. A delighted, unbelieving grin was appearing on Sirius' face. 

"Don't you dare to insult my wand. I feel the urgent need to try it out." He was still gripping it tightly with his left hand. He passed it to his right, and another series of sparks came out. 

"You won't dare." 

"I think I have already." He grinned guiltily. "Sorry, it reads my mind before I actually think of the spell." 

Arabella looked around, at her hands and behind her back but saw nothing. "Liar," she started but realised he wasn't bluffing from the looks she received. A look of suspicion crossed her face and she lifted her hand. Instead of hair her hand found leaves and flowers. Rose blossoms crowned her head. Far from feeling flattered she let out a scream. 

Sirius chuckled. "Beautiful and untouchable. Appropriate, don't you think?" 

"Make it back!" 

"No counterspell, sorry." 

"What?" 

"Not that I know of. But Remus will tell you our patented secret on getting it out if you ask nicely." 

Remus glared at him with murderous intent, but Sirius had already lost the mischievous look and was staring back at his wand with the expression of being thousand miles away. "I'll fix your windows," he said to Dumbledore and disappeared from the room. 

Arabella went directly to Remus, and she wasn't the only one interested in what he had to say. Snape, too, shifted discretely in their direction. 

"I'm happy to see everyone is having fun, but the question is still unanswered." Snape, Remus and Arabella immediately turned at Professor McGonagall's strict voice. Harry marvelled at how after so many years she managed to control them all. "Who and how and to what purpose put this objects in this -heavily guarded, I must add- room?" 

"Materialization..." 

"Making a new wand from nothing at all? If you managed to pass Transformation -and you all did- you should know that materializing anything beyond basics is pure theory." 

"The Phoenix…" 

"The Phoenix Enchantment is not an universal trick to bypass the laws of nature. It can't do something we can't, and nobody I know of, and certainly none of the here present possess the knowledge to materialize a wand. It can't be the result of the enchantment." 

"The Phoenix is more than just sum of powers of the members of its Order." The words came out of Harry's mouth but he felt like they weren't his, that he was just repeating something… And then he remembered. "He created this. The Phoenix. It's real, I saw him, it was made of fire…" Harry hung on the memory, afraid that the image could be gone again. He was acutely aware of everybody's eyes on him and of his own lack of ability to explain himself. Then it occurred to him that he didn't have to. The message he had was for Sirius. He turned around and run out of the room. 

He was a little surprised and immensely relieved that nobody followed. He climbed the steps to Dumbledore's office and pushed the door. Sirius was sitting on the edge of the massive table, quietly mustering the piece of wood he held with his both hands. He startled as the door closed with a bang behind Harry. 

Harry crossed the space between him and his godfather. The words were on the tip of his tongue, instead of saying them he ended up asking: "How do you know it's yours?" in somewhat accusing tone. 

"Do you know what the most difficult part of becoming an animagus is?" Sirius answered the question with another question. Harry stared at him, relieved that he didn't seem offended. "You won't find it in any book on human transformation." He shifted to sit more comfortably on Dumbledore's table. "We figured it out in our fifth year, Moony told you that. We could transform at our will, but there was a problem. We had no idea what to do with our clothes." 

Harry had to snort at that. He couldn't see the connection between being an animagus and recovering a wand, but the idea of Sirius and his father running undressed around the Forbidden Forest was rather hilarious. 

"We figured it out eventually, a combination of a shrinking charm and secondary transformation, but not before your father got a highly embarrassing Howler informing him he wouldn't get any new sets of underwear from home. Ask Snape if you don't believe me, it was his most glorious hour. I still don't know which is the right way to do it. Bottom line is, you can risk loosing a pair of cloaks, but you can't risk your wand. But we had to take them with us." 

Sirius stood up and transformed silently. The great black dog looked up at Harry, the lock of hair hanging over his eyes exactly like it did over Sirius'. He was carefully holding the wand between his teeth. Matching the position of Padfoot's fangs run a line of scratches worked into the wood by years of use. Very carefully Harry took the wand from him. 

So his memory had been true. "The Phoenix said it would make you believe. He knew you wouldn't want to. He said he would be waiting for you." 

Sirius transformed back but said nothing. He just nodded silently and walked to the window, watching the white snowy tops of the Forbidden Forest. Harry left the wand on the table and came to stay near him. It wasn't the right time, but there would never be a right time to do this. He had already apologised to Snape. Talking with Sirius should be easier, but as he opened him mouth he realised that it was going to be much more difficult. 

"I am sorry. I got you into all this. The Order of Phoenix, the prank on Snape…" he said softly. "I thought he would kill you. I thought he would kill us all." He wasn´t sure he dared to say the fearful name aloud right than. 

Sirius' eyes never left the dancing snowflakes outside the window, but he extended his arm to rest it on Harry's shoulder. Harry blinked heavily and looked up to give Sirius his best "I-am-okay-so-don´t-get-all-mushy" smirk, but felt himself being pulled and suddenly his face was buried in the folds of Sirius' cloak, and his arms closed tightly around Harry's shoulders. 

He was so startled his first impulse was to fight free, but Sirius stepped back with such guilty quickness he realised he was doing something incredibly stupid. It was just a hug, for God's sake, only a little, normal, common hug every kid got from his parents about once a day. He forced himself to relax. 

"You couldn't have know any of it, Harry. And even if you did it wouldn't have matter. It wouldn't have matttered even if you did it on purpose, or put Snape inder Imperius yourself, or handed me over to the dementors, or became a Death Eater." 

"I'll never become a Death Eater and I'll never hand you..." started to protest Harry. 

"I know. But I'd still love you even if you did." 

Harry's arms surrounded Sirius's neck and hugged him tightly, and they stood there for a while, saying nothing. The last words filled all Harry's thoughts and he tried to understand why in spite of sounding so wrong they felt so right. He found no answers and finally pulled away, mumbling something about going to the Gryffindor tower and hurrying out of the room. 

He didn't want to go back to the meeting again, and the excuse he made up in order to flee from Dumbledore's office suddenly turned to be a good idea. He hadn't seen Ron and Hermione in what seemed years. But walking along the familiar corridors his mind was still back there, thinking about the embrace he and Sirius shared and about why he had to screw it up by running away. 

He was too old for such childish demonstrations of affect, or maybe too inexperienced in the complicated art of being loved. When Mrs. Weasley hugged him after the Triwizard Tournament, she did so because she wanted to calm him, and because that was what she did when she had to calm Ron, or Ginny, or the twins. Sirius didn't have seven kids who had to be hugged on regular basis. When he did, it was only because of him, Harry. _"He may even love you strong enough to forgive you."_ And now Harry knew for sure he did. 

Ron was sitting alone in the common room. He greeted him happily, but made no fuss over the fact that Harry was back and Harry guessed that whatever version of the events Dumbledore told the school, it wasn't nearly as impressive as the truth was. It suited him fine. He didn't want to discuss that topic just yet. 

"Where's Hermione?" He asked, and watched in surprise as Ron's freckled face changed its colour. 

"She went home. Finally told her parents about You-know-who and you and... that people have died. She said she wanted to wait for you but didn't want her parents to have a fit, so she left with Hogwarts Express this morning." 

Harry was surprised by his friend's cutting voice. He was sad he had to spend the Christmas without Hermione and sorry he didn't say her good-bye, but surely talking to her parents was more important. They had been trying to persuade her to tell them since she confessed they didn't know. He pointed that out to Ron. To his surprise, Ron's face not only didn't recuperate its normal colour, it turned so red it matched his hair. 

"Right! _We_ have been trying to persuade her for month, and do you know why she finally did it? You think it was us? Open your eyes! She received a letter form _Vicky_!" 

It took Harry a while to realise what Ron meant by that. 

"Us or Viktor Krum, what does it matter? I'm still happy for her…" The discussion was threatening to become rather heated, but it was interrupted by Ron's brothers coming down the stairs. 

"Seen our parents out there?" George asked in a way of greeting. Fred felt compelled to elaborate. "They said we had to go home, too. You know, the rumours about You-know-who and so, they want to have us all together so they can watch our every step. Bill and Charlie are coming, too." 

"But we said we weren't coming without you." Ron concluded. 

"You missed the train?" 

"We figured out they'd have to come, and that would be a good opportunity to talk to Dumbledore and convince him to let you come." 

Harry was thankful for the gesture, but privately didn't believe Dumbledore would let him put one foot outside Hogwarts grounds after what happened. 

The portrait hole opened and the three Weasleys jumped to their feet, but it was Remus Lupin who walked in, greeting them with an affectionate smile. He successfully dodged Ron's question concerning his presence at Hogwarts and was immediately bombarded with a storm of complains about Snape's DADA teaching abilities. Harry sat quietly in the corner. He supposed that Remus wanted to talk to him and was thinking how to do it without the twins noticing. 

The solution came quite unexpectedly. The portrait swung aside again, and Sirius' head appeared in the opening. He looked around, beamed at Harry, noticed Remus and the three Weasleys and stepped in. 

_"What the hell he thinks he's doing? Dumbledore said only the third floor…"_ There was still a minuscule opportunity the twins wouldn't see him if he disappeared instantly from the room… But Sirius ignored Harry's frantic waving, closed the portrait behind him and walked over to Remus. 

"Good to see you're still in one piece, Moony. Arabella hasn't lost her sense of humour?" 

Remus choked on the phrase "but he does know a lot about the Dark Arts" and started to turn around very, very slowly, looking away from the twin's identical did-he-say-what-we-heard expressions. 

"Hm, thanks," he answered and managed to sound like a respectable professor. His dignified demeanour was almost perfect. "She took it well, but she'll still be after you when she's done washing her hair with butterbeer five times. And she won't be the only one." He added casually, shooting a quick glance in the twin's direction. Fred let out a strangled sound. George's mouth silently gesticulated the word "Moony." Harry had to admit it; Remus knew how to loose graciously. 

"Snape did hear? About time... I wish I saw his face…" 

_"I can't believe he's doing it on purpose. He knows they know about Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. I told him himself. He knows they have seen his wanted picture hundreds of times"_. To be honest with himself Harry had to admit Sirius didn't look like his wanted poster anymore, even since he went to live with Remus. Except for that look in his eyes... Now that look was gone, and it was surprising to see how different Padfoot's eyes in reality were. Still black, but unsettlingly bright. 

"You are perfectly welcome to do it now. A wonderful opportunity to try out the duelling properties of your wand, I must add." Having already been exposed in front of his ex-students Remus was shamelessly playing along and enjoying every bit of it. 

_"I can't believe they both are doing it. This is not happening." _

The expression of the twin's faces was priceless.Ron had stopped trying to suppress his laugh and had sunk to his knees, shaking with silent waves of laughter. 

"Moo-ny…" Fred pronounced slowly, tasting Remus new name and identity. Harry imagined what he was doing; trying to picture the calm and composed Hogwarts teacher crawling through the secret passages of the castle and experimenting with Professor Snape's hair. He finally gave up, made a funny face and turned to Sirius. 

"Wormtail, Padfoot or Prongs?" Sirius opened his mouth, but than a wicked grin spread across his face and he shook his head. 

"Would be too easy, wouldn't it? You figured out the password…" 

"It took us month!" George protested. "We had to look through the whole section on maps and spirited writing before we found the book you signed, and than test every revealing spell on every page to find the password!" 

"And when we found it we realised how stupid we were, we could probably guess it by ourselves but we didn't even know what was on that parchment…" 

"Worth it, wasn't it?" 

The twins nodded solemnly. "Worth every minute we spent locked in the library, Mr…?" Sirius shook his head again. 

"You parents are talking to Dumbledore, so why don't you go find them? Not one of my subtlest hints but we have a business with Harry here." 

Shooting Harry murderous glances the twins moved through the hole, dragging their youngest brother with them. Harry doubted very much they'd get something out of him; Ron enjoyed paying them back a little too much. 

Sirius and Remus dropped in chairs on both sides of Harry. 

"Arthur Weasley is indeed with Dumbledore, and he'll probably get what he wants. You are lucky to be friends with the biggest wizard family there is. Highly unlikely anyone will dare to attack a house of ten. He'll have to set some hell of a wards, of course." 

Harry gave a little victory yell. "I'm spending the Christmas at the Burrow? And the whole holidays?" 

"Well, maybe not the _whole_ holidays. Depends on Remus." 

"False. Depends on Dumbledore." 

"It's your house, you're free to invite whoever you want there. Dumbledore has no voice in it. Please? You won't deprive an old friend a roof over the head. I can sleep in the shed.., it won't be the first time…" 

"Do you plan on making Harry too sleep in the shed?" 

"You can be cruel to me, Moony, but I never expected you to be able to do something like that to James' son…" 

Harry listened in awe to this exchange. Were they speaking about what he thought they were? 

"Enough. We have discussed this before. You can be his godfather, I still trust Dumbledore much more with anything concerning Harry's safety. Specially now. Ask him, and if he says yes you'll have all the sheds you want." Sirius tried to put on a hurt face but then thought better of it. 

"I asked him already. He won't let him come as long as there's not enough protection." He seemed suddenly fascinated with the fireplace. 

Remus looked at his friend with confusion, and suddenly began to shake with silent, merry laugh. 

"I adore this man. I admire him so much I think more is impossible, and than he does something and I admire him even more. I was wondering how he was going to trick you into it, you know? Wasn't sure even he could. A great man, Dumbledore." 

Sirius grinned guiltily. "Three days to read the book, two days to try it out, one day to convince Dumbledore I have mastered the enchantment. By New Year eve." He was counting on his fingers. 

"Don't ever dream of it. And don't forget to ask Harry before you kidnap him." 

Harry didn't make himself wait. "Are you kidding? I'd love to come." 

"You go with the Weasleys for now, than. Padfoot and I will pick you up, if he behaves." 

The portrait swung aside and the twin's cheerful voices called in unison "Nice to meet you, Padfoot!" Ron's protesting sounds were to be heard in the background. 

"Were we such a pain, Moony?" asked Sirius as he stood up. 

"Worse." Remus answered solemnly and walked to the hole, trying to acquire a part of his lost dignity before facing his ex-students. 

Harry was the last one to exit through the hole. Walking down the corridors back to Dumbledore's office he was unconsciously falling behind everyone else, deep in thoughts about everything that happened in the last two days. He felt more happy and in peace then he had in a while, but a part of him wondered if wasn't inappropriate in the face of the last events. Still, he couldn't avoid it. He would spend the Christmas at Weasley's, and then maybe with his godfather and Remus. He was also glad he had talked to Sirius and Snape. Specially Sirius. And the conversation with Dumbledore… He wasn't glad about that part. Relieved was a better word. So he wasn't the Phoenix. Better for him. No need to worry about saving the world and getting a detention in the process. 

He was so absorbed watching Fred and George trying to confuse Sirius he didn't notice Remus falling behind as well and walk silently at his side. 

"The Gred and Feorge trick. They did it to me the first day I had them in class." 

"Did you fall for it?" 

"Completely. Harry?" 

"Yeah?" 

"You don't remember what happened very well, do you?" 

"No. Only it telling me it was the right decision not to use Avada Kedavra, and about the wand." Now that Harry thought of it, nobody had said a word about the Killing curse, and he himself had completely forgotten about the matter. Maybe it was because deep inside he always knew he was right. 

"The first one was for the Order, the second for Sirius. What did it say to _you_?" 

"Me? I'm not in the Order, I shouldn't even have been there…" Harry protested, then stopped. Remus' words triggered the last memory. His weariness, and the impossibility to keep his eyes open any longer. The Portkey and the wand falling down, the Book of Phoenix closing, and the last words that kept eluding him until now. 

_"I will be waiting for you, Harry Potter."_

That's all folks!!! Again, thanks for reading. I am taking a vacation now, and will be back in September. I'm not sure what I'll do next. A Sirius-Remus-Severus hate triangle, maybe. And a rather insane HP/Star Wars crossover I have in mind (featuring Harry Skywalker, Sirius Solo, Princess McGonagall, Remus the Werewookie and many others). If you want something more to read, here are my 4 reasons that will help you to fill that little box that says "review" 

1.This is the end!!!  
2.Please?   
3.Before I updated regularly and was reasonably sure someone was reading this. Now it'll become buried under tons of other fics. If you managed to find it there I will be happy to know. Really.   
4.You sat through XII chapters of this. You are not insane. There must be a reason. I am trying to figure it out. Help me.   


Love  
Starshine 


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